Golden Child
by lighthope
Summary: At sixteen, Kristina discovers she's not who she thought she was. In her quest for answers, she will help end the long standing Spencer-Cassadine feud and bring together the town of Port Charles, all while finding her true love. Chap. 17 up -- 06.14.04
1. Prologue

Hey, this is my first GH fic, so please be nice. This was bothering me last night–what would happen when Kristina, the baby, finds out who she really is? This is my take on it.

Some notes:

-This is set fifteen years in the future. 

-In this story, Summer does die, but not before leaving Lucky a son.

Disclaimer: These characters and this setting are not mine. No affiliations here—just a fan with an imagination who feels compelled to share. =D 

Okay, enjoy.

*

Golden Child

Prologue

Hi. My name's Kristina. 

What's my full name, you ask? Don't waste your time. I have too many names to count. But I did have to choose one to use, and I did, mostly because of its symbolism.

            I go by Kristina Cassadine-Spencer.

Oh, I see... you're confused. Let me explain for you.

When I was very young, life was simple. I had a father, and I had a mother, who adored me and treated me as if I was the only girl on earth. We were like any normal family, going on outings, walks in the park and around the beautiful estate that we lived in. I went to the best private schools in the country–my father had been born into a wealthy family, probably the most wealthy family in Port Charles [the town where I grew up], and so money was no object. Considering all this, my family was very grounded. As I grew older, I watched how my great-grandfather Edward treated everyone, and how everyone loathed him–especially my mother–and realized just how different my father was in treating people. For that, I admired him. And I grew to dislike my great-grandfather as well. It's a miracle he's still alive.

My great-grandmother Lila, on the other hand, was incredibly sweet, God rest her soul. I would always visit her, even when I was really young. I think my father started bringing me to see her when I was a baby, and somehow those visits just continued on. Sadly, she passed away when I was ten, and I was devastated–we all were. The most devastated of us all, I believe, was my uncle Jason–he had taken her maiden name after a big accident that left him without a memory, and feeling that he wasn't the same person that everyone claimed him to be, he changed his name in honor of our grandmother. He rarely came around, but when he did, I loved talking to him and spending time with him. Jason once told me I reminded him of someone, but he didn't tell me who–he said the resemblance was startling. At the time, I shrugged it off, but I realize now what he was talking about. We'll get to that later.

But for now, I want to talk about my mother... well, the woman that raised me. She is beautiful. Her name is Skye–already such a beautiful name–and she had stunning looks that probably made my father fall in love with her. I guess my great-grandfather called it "almost incest"–they were "almost" cousins [long, complicated story] but it turns out that my mother wasn't related to the family at all. So she married my father. Technically, she was my step-mother, but I didn't realize this until much later. She wasn't the stereotypical stepmother that most kids hate; she was very gentle, very loving, very understanding, but put her foot down where need be. Still, I knew that I was a soft spot for her, and I used that to my great advantage. 

At school, I was one of the "cool crowd"–I got decent grades, played on the swim team, sang in the choir, and had a lot of fun with my friends. I don't want to sound conceited, but a lot of guys really wanted to go out with me too. It's true–they would call me all the time, so much that my friend Michael, who was about six years older than everyone else, had to come and kick them if they were especially relentless. But I didn't mind too much. 

However, one day, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized something startling–I had long, dark, curly hair, with natural light brown highlights, and dark, dark eyes–darker than either of my parents'. Where did that come from? I had learned from biology class that curly hair was a dominant trait–but both of my parents had straight hair. I also realized that I didn't look a thing like my father or my mother. This disturbed me deeply, and I stood there, staring at my reflection, pondering over what this could mean. Then the sound of the doorbell ringing sent me back to reality and I went to get the door. Standing on the door was a woman, about the same age as my mother, with straight, brown hair, highlights in it also, looking very professional and crisp in her pants suit. When she saw me, she widened her eyes in surprise and asked, "Kristina?"

I nodded. She proceeded to hug me tightly and say, "Oh, my goodness, look at you... you're all grown up... oh, my baby..."

I pulled away from her quite abruptly and said, "Excuse me–I don't mean to be rude, but... who are you?"

The woman's eyes widened again, this time in shock, and then questioned me, "Do you mean that they never told you?"

"Told me what?"

Her eyes narrowed and she marched into the house, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Skye! Skye, get down here!"

"What is all the ruckus here?" my great-uncle, Alan, demanded, coming down the stairs. When he saw the woman, he stood there, completely still, for a moment, and then said, "What the devil are you doing in this house?"

"I came to see–" she began, but was cut off by my mother coming down the stairs and telling off this woman. "Alexis, you have no business being in this house."

"How dare you tell me that, after you stole my child away from me and raised her as your own!" the other woman–Alexis, I guess–screamed back at my mother. Wait. I blinked, trying to figure out what Alexis meant.

"You were the one who was unfit to be a mother, killing a mobster and then pretending that you were schizophrenic and that you were your dead sister!" my mother defended. "Do you think that anyone would want a child raised by someone like you, especially people that love her?"

"I love her, Skye," Alexis said, her voice suddenly faltering, showing her vulnerability. "I've loved her since the day she was born, my Kristina Rosemary Hunter, two months too early, so early that she had to stay in the ICU. Skye, she almost died. I stayed with her night and day, never leaving her side, making sure she was okay. And you have the gall to tell me that I'm unfit to be a mother? You weren't the one who decided to keep her! If I had decided to have an abortion you wouldn't have your beloved golden child standing right here!"

This was too much for me. My mother–no, wait, step-mother–was trembling in anger. "Get out," she said, much too quietly for my taste. I knew that when she spoke in that kind of voice, she was really mad. "Get out of this house, Alexis, if you want any chance of seeing Kristina ever again."

"Fine. I'll leave, but that doesn't mean I won't be back," she snarled angrily at my step-mother. Then she turned to me, under the very wary eye of my mother–step-mother–and said, very softly, "You have your father's eyes."

I watched her, shaken, as she stormed out of the house. My mother (sorry, step-mother... it's just hard to think of someone you've thought of for sixteen years as someone else so soon) rushed to me and asked, "Kristina, are you okay?"

I looked at her and said, "I will be when you explain everything to me."

So this is what happened. The woman–Alexis–was my biological mother. She and my father had had an affair, resulting in myself, of course. But right after I was born, my mother killed this guy that had killed her sister–my aunt, Kristina, whom I was named for–and then tried to get out of prison by pretending to be insane. It worked, but then she was declared unfit to raise me and gave custody to my father. He then married Skye, and the rest is history.

"Your mother is very troubled," Skye told me. "We would have given you to her if she was sane, but she hasn't seemed to recover in such a long time."

I nodded, but inside, I was wondering if Skye had plotted against my mother to frame her and make her out to be someone she really wasn't. And another thing... what exactly did Alexis mean when she said I had my father's eyes? This troubled me too... so I decided to go to her for more answers.


	2. Chapter One

Wow, I'm so glad people like this! Yay! Hehe... to my first four reviewers, thank you, thank you... sorry, I'm addicted to reviews. =D All your questions probably will be answered within the course of the story, so don't worry about it... just keep reading!

_Shamira_: I know what you mean–I'm a teenager myself, though an old one, so I understand these things perfectly. Keeping your comments in mind, I'm trying to write Kristina as though I were in her shoes, kind of, so it has that "teenager-y" touch to it. Thanks for your awesome review!

_cleopatra: _The other Quartermaines may turn up, they may not... we'll see. Emily is mentioned in this chapter, so you'll see what happened to her.

_JasonandSarkLover125_: Thanks for your review... I'm trying to get inspiration for a Journey fic, I have been for quite a while, but somehow it's not coming...

_Amethyst Beloved_: Wow your review was good too! Hehe... yeah, Kristina all grown up is a bit weird, but just imagine the possibilities! Glad y'all like this fic! =D

Remember… these people are not mine. Except Loren... and some other weird unfamiliar people that you may run across. =D

Onto the next installment...

*

Golden Child

Chapter One

"Okay," I said to myself, slowly, sitting in the room that I had come to know while I believed I was a Quartermaine. Even then, I had trouble with my [many] last names... I didn't know it was about to get much worse. I was determined to find this woman–my biological mother, Alexis–and get more answers from her. But where could I find her?

A sudden thought entered my mind. "Nikolas," I whispered, realizing whom I could turn to in order to find my answers.

The journey to Spoon Island is never fun. The Cassadines, another family in Port Charles, inhabit that island. They had their glory days way back when, but somehow, right around the time I was two, their financial backing collapsed and they were reduced to almost nothing. Stefan, the patriarch at the time, was so furious, he hurled himself off the cliffs on these islands, and was never seen again. The only surviving Cassadine, Nikolas, took it upon himself to rebuild not only the power and prestige of the Cassadine name, but also tried to make it more amiable to the rest of Port Charles. To this end, he married my cousin, Emily–she had breast cancer at the time and was able to beat it, but sadly, four years after she went into remission, the cancer struck again and made her suffer for another four, long years, until finally, and coincidentally, on the same day as my great-grandmother Lila, Emily passed on. Our family was quite devastated–Emily was another wonderful woman, and we couldn't fathom losing two beautiful people on the same day. Because of our loss, Nikolas became closer to our family as well–closer than he had been before. It was explained to me that on the day of their marriage, Nikolas and Emily were not in love, but they had fallen in love magically after they were married. Nikolas was devastated that his wife had died, and the only thing he had left was their daughter. But she, too, met the same fate as her mother–she was found lying at the bottom of the bluffs on Spoon Island, along with the mother of Nikolas's nephew, Summer. He has thrust all his energies into finding who did this to the twosome, but still has not found anything. The long-standing feud the Cassadines hold with another family, the Spencers, which had seemed to have been quelled, has now returned, fiercer than ever–Lucky Spencer, the father of Summer's son, believes the Cassadines had something to do with Summer's death and despises them, even though Nikolas is his half-brother.

Anyway, I relay all this information because of the fact that I know Nikolas is related to this Alexis character–I've heard him mention her in passing several times. He stays close to the Quartermaine family even now, and so we are on good terms with him. I pondered all of this on the unpleasant journey across the lake, pondered why my "parents" had never told me my true parentage... and then I came across someone wandering around on the island. It was night, and the misty fog was creeping all around us, so I had my guard up. I watched him, closely, but inconspicuously, as he was sneaking around near the edge of one of the cliffs. "What is he doing? Doesn't he know he's surely going to get himself killed?" I whispered to myself. I watched in suspense as he lurked around, gathering things and putting them into a small plastic baggie. Hmm. A detective in the making, I see. I rolled my eyes–too many people had fallen off this cliff, I knew, for him to find exactly what he was looking for. But I did agree with his logic–if he was doing this on his own, without the help of the police (and he looked to be about my age, too), then he knew how corrupted our law enforcement really was. I admired people who saw through that–it used to be blaringly obvious, but now it's so hush-hush people stopped trying to stop it.

Okay, so my thoughts had wandered yet again–I'm known to do that a lot. I was trying to concentrate on the guy when suddenly I heard a rustling of leaves and gravel, and I knew what was gonna happen. Instinctively I jumped out and found nothing but a set of fingertips hanging on wildly for dear life. "Help," the voice belonging to the guy hanging yelled hoarsely. "Help me! Is there anyone there? Hell–no one's there, who are you kidding?"

I smiled in spite of the situation–he talked to himself, which amused me because I talked to myself as well. Before I could let my mind wander, I returned to the gravity of the situation. "No, I'm here, and I'll help you. Just give me your hand."

Making sure I was on secure ground, I extended my arm over the edge and braced myself to pull the weight up. The guy's hand gripped mine tightly and I pulled, with much effort to keep myself from not falling, and finally, with help from him pulling as well, he made it up onto the rock. He got up and I saw that he was a few inches taller than me, with spiky hair and stunningly clear, crystal sapphire blue eyes. I could see that even in the moonlight. He dusted his hands off and then looked at me. "Oh... thank you so much, you saved my life."

I shrugged. "Did what I had to do, didn't I?"

"Still, though..." He trailed off. "I'm still thankful. By the way, my name's Loren. Loren Spencer. I'm very, very pleased to meet you." He smiled and I smiled back at his infectious smile. Wait. Lauren?

"What?" I said, trying hard not to laugh. "You... you have a girl's name?"

The guy rolled his eyes and laughed. "Don't worry, I get that all the time. It's L-O-R-E-N, you know, like Sophia Loren?"

"Ah." I nodded in understanding. "My name's Kristina." I extended my hand once again, this time to shake his hand. As he shook my hand, he raised an eyebrow. "Kristina... what?"

"Well... My full name's Kristina Rosemary Hunter Quartermaine Ashton... Davis... Cassadine..." I trailed off as Loren continued to raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, it's a long story. I prefer just Kristina."

"Yeah, I would too." Loren put a hand behind his head to rub his neck–I guessed it was a bit sore from all the straining. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" His attitude suddenly became a bit more chilly.

"I'm up to see Nikolas to ask him where my biological mother lives–that's where I get the Davis-Cassadine part of my name. Um, yeah... I just found out that the mother I loved and adored isn't really my blood relative... and... yeah, I'm sorry, I must be boring you with all this stuff..." I rambled on, then realizing I was telling my history to a complete stranger, one that didn't especially seem to like me that much anyway. To change the subject, I asked, "So, what are you doing here?"

Loren's eyes suddenly went steely. "Don't worry about it."

I shrugged–I wasn't one to butt into other people's business. "Okay. Well... it was nice meeting you... I'm going to go up to Wyndemere now."

Loren nodded. "Well... it was nice meeting you, Kristina. And thank you... yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome," I said sincerely as I made my way up to the manor, wondering what was up with that guy.

"Nikolas?"

I gingerly walked into the Cassadine mansion, always intimidated by it, even now. "Nikolas, are you here?"

The chair that was directly in front of me turned to reveal who I was looking for. He looked weary, life's toll evident in his features, but nevertheless, his eyes lit up at seeing me. "Hello, Kristina."

"Hi," I greeted him, walking up to his desk. "I promise I won't bother you for very long... I just need you to tell me where Alexis lives."

"Alexis, as in Alexis Davis?" He looked at me incredulously.

"I think so... do you know, Nikolas?"

"Know what?" He tried to keep his voice even, but I could tell he was failing.

"You do, don't you? You know that Alexis is my biological mother, don't you?"

Nikolas hung his head in defeat. "Yes, I do."

"Then tell me where she is."

Nikolas smiled; I was becoming quite irritated at his toying around with me. "Nikolas, don't play games with me."

"Oh, I'm not, I promise," he said, appearing taken aback just a bit. "It's just... god, Kristina, you're just like her."

"Oh."

"And Alexis is here. She's staying here as my guest until she can get herself established again."

"What you do mean, 'established again?'"

He started playing absentmindedly with a pen on his desk. "Alexis has been out of town since you were four, Kristina. I won't tell you the circumstances, however–she can tell you that herself."

"Can I–" I swallowed involuntarily. "Can I see her?"

"Absolutely." Nikolas smiled warmly at me. "Rose will show you in." He gestured to the maid standing in the doorway to the chambers, and I followed her, not knowing to expect. After two minutes of just roaming–Wyndemere was so incredibly large, especially for the number of people living in it–Rose showed me to a door on the second floor, and I smiled. "Thank you, Rose." I knew how hard servants worked, and I had always made it a point, even when I was younger, to be nice to them, to show them how appreciative I was. She left me at the door politely and I stood there for a minute, so desperately wanting answers to my burning questions, but too apprehensive to get them. What would happen when I found out the truth? _But you need to know_, a voice said inside me. I nodded, taking advantage of the rush of courage that had overcome me, and I knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called, and I recognized it as the one that had been screaming in my house earlier. I opened the door slowly, trying to stall, but then Alexis caught sight of me. "Kris–Kristina?"

I nodded. "I need your help."

Alexis took off the glasses she was wearing to read a book and peered up at me. "Anything, Kristina, I'll help you with whatever you need."

She seemed a bit desperate to me, but I continued on. "I need to know about my parentage, and I need to know your side of the story."

Exhaling, Alexis nodded, though there was a spark of excitement and hope in her eyes. "Very well. Sit down," she gestured, pointing to a cushy armchair that was a few feet away from the bed, "and I'll tell you everything."

I did as she said, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the truth I both craved and dreaded at the same time.


	3. Chapter Two

AN: Sorry that this wasn't out a little sooner, but I'm working now and it's kinda hard to write, although I have been trying. So don't worry, this story will still progress, but not as fast as it could, unless it's a weekend… =D I'm glad everyone likes this story, it makes me feel special. 

Happy 4th to all the Americans out there!!! =D

Now onto the story… 

*

Golden Child

Chapter Two

Alexis looked at me for a moment, as if trying to decide where to start. "Kristina, this is a long, complicated story."

I nodded. "I figured that."

She smiled weakly, inhaled, and then began, "I was–still am–a lawyer. Back in the day, I had many prestigious clients. One of them, however, stuck out at me. I began to find myself becoming attracted to him, but I knew he was involved, so of course I didn't do anything to jeopardize his marriage." She closed her eyes, as if she was reliving the memory. 

"However, even though he was married, he flirted, played games with me, and one night, somehow, one thing led to another, and a few weeks later, I learned I was pregnant." I scowled, knowing what my mother was trying to say. I was very grateful, however, that she spared any details. "But you know, he was–still is–married, so I couldn't really tell him. His wife at the time wasn't able to conceive, which added insult to injury, and so I lied and said that someone else was your father to protect your biological father and his wife." She looked at me expectantly, trying to read me. I furrowed my eyebrows because I was coming to realize something that Alexis wasn't stating directly, but was implying. I let her continue before I asked her anything. 

"I was dealing with some other stuff at the time–your aunt and namesake, Kristina, had just died–long story–but anyway, I guess all the extra stress made me start contractions earlier, and you were born, many months too early, and I was scared you were going to leave me too... everyone else already had." Alexis breathed deeply, apparently trying to compose herself. "Anyway, finally, after months in the ICU, you were released, but your father–the person that everyone had come to believe was your father–was battling for custody rights; after people found out that I killed the person I thought killed your aunt, they didn't think I should be allowed to raise you, and so to stay out of jail, I pretended to be schitzo. Kristina, I did it all out of love for you, but no one could see that. So when Ned got full custody of you, when you were three, I couldn't stand it anymore. I moved away, moved away from the place that was full of so many bad memories, started over in a new town, changed my name, built up my reputation as a lawyer... in fact it got so reputed, one of the Quartermaines–Monica, I think–asked if I could be their personal attorney, and so I came back. But I never, ever forgot you, Kristina, never. I just knew that you had a good life and I didn't want to take that away from you–I have always wanted what's best for you."

"So..." I said slowly, absorbing all of this, and beginning my questions, "today–when you came to the house--you came to see Monica?"

Alexis nodded. "I mean, I knew subconsciously you'd be there, but I didn't expect you to answer the door... and when I saw you... I mean, it's been nine years, Kristina, you've grown up so much... it just took over me."

I sighed, not knowing what to make of this. And then another question–the big one that had been bothering me the whole time–came into mind. "Wait, so you're saying that Ned Ashton isn't my biological father?"

"That's correct." I raised an eyebrow–I guess my mother really was a lawyer. Wait, did I just call this woman whom I barely knew, who let me be raised by people who weren't my blood, my mother? Whoa. 

"Then..." I only had one more question–I could understand the desperation she went through, given the events that happened right around my birth. Maybe this was because I really am my mother's daughter... but anyway, I finally voiced the inevitable question that hung in the air.

"If Ned Ashton isn't my biological father... then who is?"

Alexis took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said, "Sonny Corinthos."

Sonny Corinthos.

I lay on my bed that night, pondering over this revelation. 

Sonny Corinthos.

After hearing that, I widened my eyes in shock, then got up and ran. I don't know how I did it, but I ran and I ran, ran with Alexis shouting "Wait!" after me, ran past a startled Nikolas in his chair, ran past the huge doors, ran onto the docks, ran onto the waiting boat that had somehow turned up, and sat, catching my breath, as I wished for the boat to somehow go faster, to zip up onto the mainland so I could start running again, running away from the truth. I finally made it to my room, lay on my bed, the thoughts running just as fast as I had been. I _knew_ him. Well, I didn't know him personally, but I knew his daughter, Bellatrix*–she had been in my classes in my schools. She had said her father didn't want her in danger, so he sent her off. We had hit it off right away when we both discovered, even though we were miles from home, that we came from the same place. Realizing the irony of the thought, I sighed. We did come from the same place. We were sisters.

And Hope Morgan**, Bella's best friend and cousin, was my cousin too. Heck–she already was my cousin [she's Jason's daughter, with Sonny's sister, Courtney]... this was just really weird. I had know her too, in my school days. This was just too weird for me. 

"So now," I said, half out loud and half to myself, "my full name is... Kristina Rosemary Hunter Quartermaine Ashton Cassadine Davis Corinthos... very interesting." Even though I wasn't related to the Quartermaines by blood, I still considered them family. Kind of like my mother–I mean step-mother. This was weird. Can't I just have two mothers?

I lay there knowing that I wouldn't get that much sleep that night, when another thought hit me. 

_You have your father's eyes._

So that's what Alexis meant. I got up and looked in the mirror again. I had remembered Bella saying something about how she inherited a lot of her father's looks, and I realized that she and I looked a lot alike. _Maybe this is what Jason was talking about_, I thought to myself. Yeah, I did look a lot like Bella, except my hair was a little lighter than hers. Wow. I wondered why we had never noticed this before. 

So many questions were running through my mind—like, where would I live now? I knew Edward didn't like the people who were not blood-related and were living in his house, especially my mot–wait, stepmother. And since I wasn't blood-related on either side of my family… what was I gonna do? I had too many people that I was related to that could take me in, yet I didn't really know any of them, except the Cassadines, and I didn't really want to live there either.

Finally, my mind was too tired to think anymore, and I fell into a shallow and restless sleep.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and for a moment I thought that the previous day's events were just a dream, until I saw my reflection in the mirror again and remembered. I sighed heavily and sat on my bed, just thinking, until there was a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?"

My stepmother peered into my room. I nodded and she sat down on the bed next to me, stroking my hair. "Where did go you go last night? We were worried about you."

I looked at her but still didn't say anything. "Are you okay, Kristina?"

I shrugged. "I know everything, Mom. I know things I bet you don't even know."

"Well," she said in a soothing voice, "tell me what you know."

"I'll make this simple for you," I told her, as her eyes narrowed and she gave me a look. I really didn't care, though—I was feeling quite irritable and didn't really want to deal with anything this early in the morning. And besides… she wasn't my mother anyway. "My full name? It's Kristina Rosemary Hunter Quartermaine Ashton Cassadine Davis…" I saw her make a face as I trailed off, then saw her expression contort into one of shock as I completed my thought. "… Corinthos."

"What?"

"You heard me. Dad—Ned—isn't my biological father. Sonny Corinthos is."

"But… how…"

"A one night stand… an affair… whatever you want to call it, but yeah, I'm sure you know how that works."

"Don't get started with me, young lady." Mom—Skye—was eyeing me in "mother mode." "Just because I may not be your biological mother, it doesn't mean you can talk to me in that tone."

I tried to resist the urge to roll my eyes; I didn't want that much trouble. So I sighed instead. "I'm sorry… it's just that this is all so overwhelming, you know? I couldn't sleep well last night."

Skye nodded in understanding. "It'd be hard for anyone, after finding that out."

I looked at her and unwanted tears filled my eyes. "Where am I going to live now? Great-grandfather is going to kick me out, isn't he?"

Sighing heavily, she replied, "I honestly don't know, Kristina. It's a wonder he didn't kick _me_ out—it's only because I'm married to your father, and even then he doesn't quite approve." 

I sighed also. Great-grandfather Edward and I didn't get along quite well, to say the least. "So do you think I should tell him? I mean, I don't feel right somehow staying here, but you're the only family I've ever known…"

"Kristina, honey, if you're not kicked out—if you are, I'm going to fight it tooth and nail—but if you're not kicked out, of course you can stay. We love you… you're the daughter I never had… you are and always will be my daughter, even though we're not blood related."

A wave of emotion came over me—a rare occasion; I'm known to be very stoic—and I rushed to give Skye a hug. "Thank you…"

We stayed there for a while, just holding on to the shreds of the reality that we knew would change very soon.

(*) To the readers that have known Hope as Amanda, I changed her name because of the whole Journey situation right now on the show. It seems unlikely that Courtney cannot have children, yes? But she conceived, and they have a daughter [in this story], that gives them hope. Thus, the name Hope. [I use that name in way too many of my stories. LOL]

(**) For all you Harry Potter fans out there—I had to use that name somewhere, it's an awesome name. =D But she's not bad like her namesake in the book.

Review, review, review! Please?


	4. Chapter Three

Thank you for all your kind reviews, they make me happy. =D

_Amethyst Beloved_: You know what, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I'll try to cameo Dillon and Georgie somehow [I was watching last week's episodes of GH on SoapNet and they are a great couple!!! =D], possibly as visiting the Q's, maybe... I'll figure out where I can put them, but they'll appear somewhere in this story, I promise. =D

And to answer some other reviewer's [I don't remember who, sorry =(] comment... just because Stefan flung himself off a cliff, doesn't mean he's quite dead, you know... *cue mysterious music* This is a soap opera-based fic, after all. *evil grin*

Okay, I'm done talking now.

Disclaimer: You know they're not mine, deal with it!!! [Okay I'm done venting now =D]

*

Golden Child

Chapter Three

It's interesting what happens to you after you realize the world you've come to know is a lie, just a reality pulled over your head to make you think a certain way. Once you come out of that false reality, your mindset changes, the way you think changes, and... well, just about everything changes.

It wasn't so hard calling Skye by her name anymore. It is a beautiful name, so that just made it easier. She still considered me her primary mother figure, but somehow I was becoming more and more detached from her. My father–well, my... stepfather? My adoptive father? Anyway, when I approached Ned with the truth, he didn't take it the way I thought he would. It was surprising.

"Dad?" I knocked softly on the door to his study. "Dad, can I come in?" I peeked my head in the door and found the only father I had known. He looked up from his work–he's always been an intense workaholic–and smiled. "Of course, sweetie."

I pushed the door open more to let my whole body through and then closed it behind me. "How's it going, Kristina?"

I sighed. "There's something I need to ask you. Or tell you. Or both."

He chuckled. "Okay, what is it?"

I hesitated for a second, then started to speak. "I don't know where to start... there's so much to ask you. Like, did you ever notice that you and I don't look a thing alike, or that Sk–Mom and I don't, either? Or the fact that I disappeared last night and didn't tell you where I went? Or that I know that Skye–" at this, he gave me a look, but I continued anyway, "isn't my mother?"

At this, he looked a little startled. "How did you know that? And where did you go last night?"

"I went to Alexis–she came here yesterday, not to see me, but for something else, and I just so happened to be there and she hugged me and was like, 'you're all grown up' or something like that, and then I was like, 'well who are you,' and then she started screaming for Skye, and then they had a shouting match and somehow I picked up on the fact that Alexis is my mother. My biological mother anyway.

"So, I went to Nikolas to try and find out more about Alexis and then it ended up that she was there at Wyndemere, so I went to see her, and she told me what happened."

"How much did she tell you?" he asked, a note of alarm evident in his voice.

"She told me everything. She went as far as telling me who my biological father is, and that's when I fled."

Dad nodded. "So you know. Who else knows?"

"Well, I told Skye, and apparently you know as well, and of course Alexis knows, but I'm not sure about anyone else."

He sighed heavily and put his head in one of his hands. "I knew this day would come, Kristina," he said to me, truthfully. "I knew that one day you would find that you are not the person you have grown up to be. I kept telling myself that I'd have to be prepared when it happened... but I didn't think it would happen so soon." 

I nodded, very surprised. He didn't seem to be shocked at all about anything. "So... what happens now?" I wondered aloud, breaking the silence.

"Do... do you still want to stay here?" Dad–Ned–asked hesitantly.

Exhaling, I replied, "Part of me does–you're the only family that I've ever known. But at the same time, I know that I'm not really one of you, and so I'd feel like I was imposing. It doesn't matter–isn't it up to Great-grandfather to decide?"

"Unfortunately, yes. However, do you want him to know?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I really don't. Can I just... you know, I need some air. I'm going to go for a walk. Is that okay?"

Ned nodded, kissing my forehead. "That's perfectly fine. Just remember that both your mother–well, Skye, and I, we love you and will always love you as if you were our own, okay?"

"I know, Dad," I whispered, fighting the emotion that was coming to me again.

So I went out. I went to the park–it was always a neutral place, and it always made me feel better. I wandered, taking in the warmth of early June, admiring the beautiful flowers, when I literally bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going," an irritable voice greeted me.

I looked up and found familiar, beautiful, but cold eyes penetrating into me. "I'm sorry, Loren. I was daydreaming again. I always do that."

"Yeah, well... I find that daydreaming does no one any good–I live in the here and now." He shot me a smirk. "So what brings you out here?"

"Clearing my head, but I doubt you care. What about you? Why do you have such an attitude?"

Loren's eyes obtained the steely look I had seen in them last night. "You're trying to butt into my business."

"Excuse me? _You're_ the one who asked me first. And if I was trying to butt into your business, I would have pried last night into exactly what you were doing on Spoon Island."

His eyes flashed, as I knew mine were, but he didn't say anything except "Fine," and brushed past me to keep walking. I called, "Yeah, nice seeing you too!" after him, and sat down huffily on a bench. Boys are stupid.

Fortunately, I was able to calm down rather quickly, and as I sat, trying to control my anger, I gazed around and saw Bella, Hope and her little sister, Justine, lazily walking around the park. Well–Justine was walking, rather scampering, and Hope and Bella were obviously a bit irritated that they had to be carting her around.

"Hey, Bella!" I called, and the three of them turned to look at me. I smiled and waved and they smiled back, Justine running over to meet me while Bella and Hope followed at a more dignified pace. "Hey, Kristina," Bella greeted me. "You know Justine and Hope, right?"

I nodded. "Hey, Hope. Hi, Justine," I said to the little girl, who smiled shyly and said "Hi" softly in return. I grinned. Little kids are awesome.

"So what are you up to, Kristina?" Bella asked.

"Oh... just clearing my head," I answered nonchalantly–I didn't want to drop a bombshell on her right now. "A lot of stuff has happened in the past few days. You know how it is with my family–constant drama." I rolled my eyes, and Bella and Hope laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. So... you want to hang with us right now? We're just walking around, letting Justine out for some air–she gets really restless when she's inside, and we kind of have to be inside for a long time."

I nodded knowingly. Bella got quite sensitive to the fact that her father was a mob boss and that she had to be constantly guarded–even now, I was sure there was a bodyguard somewhere hidden in the bushes. But she knew that I didn't care–I understood. A lot of people at our schools, if they knew about that, would tease her about it–that's how snobby they were over there–so she kept it on the DL. Anyway, I got up and joined their lazy walking, glad to have a bit of distraction. And it was nice not to have my great-uncle Alan, or my great-grandfather, or my uncle A.J. nagging me about hanging with "those kinds of people." That really irritated me. _But now_, I thought with satisfaction, _I don't have to listen to a thing that they say anymore–not like I really did anyway._

"Kristina?" Hope asked. "Did you hear me?"

"What? Oh, sorry Hope... I was just drifting away."

Hope laughed. "Typical Kristina. Anyway, I was just asking if you wanted to come with Bella, Justine and me to lunch–we're meeting my parents and my aunt and uncle there. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you came with us."

"Are–are you sure?" I asked uncertainly. Not only did I want to impose, but eating with them meant that I'd have to face Sonny Corinthos. _Kristina, you're going to have to face him sometime or other. Might as well face up to it. Besides, it's not like you're going to have to tell him right away that you're his daughter._ Mentally, I resolved to be strong and go through it.

"Yeah, it's just fine," Hope reassured me. "Don't worry about it."

I swallowed involuntarily and said, "Okay. Let me–let me just let Sky–I mean, my mom know, okay?"

"Okay." Hope turned to keep an eye on Justine, who was running all over the park. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed home.

"_Hello?_"

"Skye? It's me. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to lunch with a few of my friends, okay?"

"_Which ones?_"

"Bellatrix and Hope."

"_Oh_. Oh_._ _Kristina, are you sure?"_

"Yes, Mom." The words came out before I could catch myself–out of pure habit. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid."

"_Are you sure?_"

"Yes, Mo–yes. I'll be fine. And I won't let anything out, okay?"

"_Okay, Kristina... just be careful, please._"

"I will. Talk to you later."

"_Bye. And... thanks for letting me know._"

"Of course, Skye. Bye now." I hung up the phone and walked around to find Bella and Hope, probably chasing after Justine. When I found them, I announced, "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go." I was ready to face who I was, even though I wasn't quite prepared for the consequences.

  
  
  
  


Review review review!!! =D 


	5. Chapter Four

AN: For all your Journey fans–here's a bit of Journey for you! Yay! AND… my Journey fic is up now, so check it out! It's called "From This Day Forth."

*

Golden Child

Chapter Four

"So, where are we headed to?" I asked, as nonchalantly as I could. I wanted to keep the conversation—and the whole mood—as casual and as light as possible, hoping I could make my way through this without becoming nervous or anything. 

"They wanted to eat at Kelly's, except for Mom—she wanted to have lunch at the Cellar and when she gets an idea, no one can sway her." Bella rolled her eyes. "So uncle Jason and aunt Courtney are gonna pick us up, they should be meeting us right about…" We turned a corner and found a car waiting. "Here."

Courtney stepped out of the car and Justine ran to her. "Mommy! Mommy!"

"Hi, angel." Courtney smiled and picked up her younger daughter, then greeted her other daughter and her niece. "Hey, guys. You ready?"

"Yeah. Auntie, we brought my friend Kristina along, is that okay?"

The blonde woman, the spitting image of her little girl, looked up at me, started for a second and looked quickly at Bella, then looked back at me and smiled. "Of course." Then her eyes lit up. "You're Jason's niece, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Which was true—still true. I laughed internally at the irony—even though everything in my life had pretty much changed, at least I had some constant. We piled in the car and Jason's eyes widened when he saw me through the rearview mirror. "Kristina?"

"Hi, Uncle Jason."

"How are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, you should come to visit me more often," I told him, but smiling. "Bella said that it was okay for me to come with you guys to lunch."

"Good job, Tink*," Jason said as he began driving, winking and grinning at Bella in the mirror. "Saved me a visit."

"Jason!" Courtney gasped, hitting her husband on the shoulder playfully. "That's your family."

"You guys are my family. Just because I'm related to people doesn't mean I consider them family—like A.J. He's a prick!"

Before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing. "Too true."

"See, Kristina agrees with me—she should know, she has to live with him!" He shot me a sympathetic look. "I feel your pain."

"Don't worry about it," I told my uncle. "I won't have to put up with them for much longer, I'm sure," I said dryly, then widened my eyes when I realized what I had said.

"Why wouldn't you?" Courtney asked quizzically.

"I… um… well, it's about time that A.J. moved out of the mansion, don't you think? I mean, he _is_ a little old to be living there." I couldn't resist taking a shot at my "uncle." Jason was more of an uncle than A.J. ever would be, and I needed something to cover the truth.

Jason and Courtney laughed heartily. "You don't know how right you are about that, Kristina. But if Edward wants him in there, then so be it."

I nodded, knowing exactly how it went. "So, Kristina, how are you? I haven't talked to you in a long time. Pretty soon I won't even know who you are."

Considering that now I didn't even know who I was, he didn't know how close he was to the truth. I broke out of my thoughts at the expectant look Jason was giving me, and looking into those eyes, those truthful eyes, I knew that I could trust him with my secret. I needed to tell someone other than my parents–this was eating me up. "I'm okay."

"How's the family?"

I laughed. "As I told Bella and Hope... constant drama." I shot him a meaningful look in the mirror, signaling with my eyes that I needed to talk to him, and with the slightest nod of his head, he told me that he agreed. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"What else is new." Jason winked at me before answering his cell phone, which was now ringing. "Morgan." I could hear Courtney and Hope sigh—Jason was involved in "unscrupulous" business, as my uncle A.J. called it.

"Yeah… yeah… okay, we'll be there." Jason grinned. "Good news, Bella—change of plans. We're eating at Kelly's today."

"Yay!" I laughed. Bella was so funny when she wanted to be. Jason made a quick change of direction, coming back the way we came, and soon we were at Kelly's. We got out of the car and headed inside, my hands involuntarily trembling. "Come on," Bella chided, "my dad's not _that_ bad."

_Yeah, that's what you think,_ I thought. But I just smiled and walked in with the rest of them, and Bella's mom was waiting there for us. "Hey guys. Sonny's gonna be here in a few—he's got something to take care of first."

"Okay," Jason agreed, as we sat at two adjoining tables—one for the kids, one for the adults. Before I sat down, Bella said, "Wait. Mom—mom, this is my friend Kristina. Kristina, this is my mom, Carly Corinthos."

"Hi," I said, as Carly shook my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Kristina…" She looked at me questioningly, and I said, "Just Kristina. It's a long story, but I don't prefer a last name."

"Oh. Okay." Carly nodded slowly but incredulously, as if she didn't believe me. Then she looked at me closely. "Wow… hey, Bella, come here."

"Yeah?"

"Stand next to her for me, will you?"

"Umm… okay." Bella obliged and stood next to me. She looked at the two of us carefully and then said, "Do you guys see it?," referring to Jason and Courtney.

Jason nodded, while Courtney gasped and said, "Oh, my gosh, you guys look uncannily alike."

"Like twins?" Bella asked.

"No… you have your differences, but… wow."

Carly looked at me and asked, "Kristina, who are your parents?"

I hesitated, then said, "Um… well, I grew up with Ned and Skye Ashton."

"Oh." Then Carly's eyes lit in recognition. "Oh, my goodness." Her hand flew to her mouth. "But Skye's not your mother, right?"

"What? Skye's not your mom?" Bella echoed incredulously.

"I… um…" I couldn't think straight. How did Carly know all of this? "Uh… no, she's my stepmom. She's not my biological mother."

Carly just nodded, while Bella almost screamed, "What? How come you didn't tell me?"

"Like I said, it's a long story, and I just found out, but I promise I'll tell you later, okay?" I whispered in her ear. She just nodded and her face took on a more serious expression when I told her that. Her mother, on the other hand, kept interrogating me. "So if Skye's not your mother… who is?"

Bella, seeing that I was becoming visibly upset, then stepped in and said, "Mom, lay off. You just met her, can't you see your upsetting her?"

"I…" She trailed off, appeared pensive for a moment, and then said, "You know what, you're right. Kristina, I'm really sorry, I just… your story… it brings back something from the past that I thought I had put past me."

I nodded. I had a feeling she knew everything—how, I don't know—and if she did know the truth, she would feel threatened. "It's okay."

"I'm really, truly sorry… I can see how shaken and upset you are by this."

I waved her off, smiling. "It's okay. Really. I'd just rather not talk about it and dwell on other things instead, like… how it's good to finally meet you. Bella talks about you all the time."

"Wait, how do you know her?"

"She's been in a few of my classes at school—we were the only two people from Port Charles there, and so we bonded, you know," I explained. Carly smiled. "Well, I'm glad Bella's had someone to talk and relate to."

I smiled. "Yeah, it's been fun." 

"Hey, Mom," Bella asked, interrupting, "can I sit down now?"

"What? Of course you can." Carly smiled at her daughter, and as we proceeded to sit down, a voice sounded, "Hey, I made it," and I froze. I turned around and came face to face with my past, and possibly my future—Sonny Corinthos was walking towards the table, and toward me.

Hey, so that's the end of chapter three! I have a poll for you guys, now you can help me write this story =D—just exactly how do you want Sonny to find out that Kristina's his daughter? A few options for you:

-Carly tells him.

-Kristina tells Jason and Jason tells Sonny

-While Kristina confides in Bella, someone overhears and tells him. The choices for that someone are Justine and *gasp—plot twist!***** Loren. [I'm leaning towards that one… hehe]

-Kristina tells him herself

-He never finds out

-Other suggestions welcome

Let me know—the option with the most votes will become the story! Remember that whatever choice is chosen will impact the rest of the story, so… yeah. =D Please let me know. In other words—review!!!

*The whole thing with Tink… it's like Tinkerbell… you know, Belle, Bella… Tink… yeah. =D


	6. Chapter Five

AN: Look, I return. I finally got MS Word on my comp, YAY! =D Thanks for all your awesome reviews. I'm sorry this hasn't been updated as frequently as before, but I'm working full time and also busy on weekends, while battling a slight case of writer's block. So I apologize.

I took all your requests into consideration, and the totals go something like this:

It was really close, but the winning situation was any variation of Jason telling Sonny about Kristina, although there was a suggestion that they tell him together. (4 votes)

Coming in at three votes was a tie: Kristina telling Sonny herself, and Loren overhearing/telling Sonny. Personally, the latter is the one I wanted, so I'm happy with you guys for reading my mind, LOL!

And then there were the stragglers: a vote for Kristina telling Bella and a vote for Carly overhearing. I worked all of it into this story, or I will, so don't worry, everyone will be happy with a bit of it. [I hope.]

Anyway, here's your next chapter—you know the deal, they're not mine, enjoy, review! Yay!

Golden Child

Chapter Five

"Hey, everyone," Sonny greeted as he walked towards us, kissing his wife on the cheek, embracing his youngest, and welcoming hugs from his nieces. From all the things I'd heard about him, he didn't seem too bad.

"Hey, yourself. You ready to eat?"

Sonny nodded, and I could feel a smile play on my lips as I recognized his eager expression as one I took on frequently. As we all sat down at our places, he looked directly at me and I involuntarily gulped. His questioning glare was quite piercing and I shuddered. "And who might you be?"

"I'm…" My voice failing me, I took a sip of water and tried again. "I'm Kristina. Bella and I are really good friends."

"Really."

I nodded. "Yeah, we met at school."

He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I see." I took the opportunity of him talking to Jason and Courtney to raise my menu, shielding myself from him. Bella, who was sitting next to me, smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Once you get to know him, he's not as intimidating. And I'm sure you'll get to know him, now that I'm back in Port Charles full time."

"What? Really?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, my parents decided they missed me too much, and now that Michael's out of the house, they want to spend time with their other child. So I'm going to the local high school this fall."

I smiled. "That's great news, Bella." I wasn't sure myself if I was going to continue high school at another snotty private school, which I didn't really want anyway, and if Great-grandfather ever found out about me and who I really was, he'd probably throw me out so I'd have to go to the local high school anyway… but again, I digress. At least, though, it was taking me away from having to face the inevitable.

"So, what do you all want?" This was Elizabeth—there was an episode about the same time as the Cassadine downfall with her and her husband, well then husband, and he had kidnapped Bella's mom when she was pregnant with Bella and was going to steal Bella and give her to Elizabeth to raise. Thankfully, Bella and her mom were saved, but Elizabeth found out the whole ugly truth and divorced Ric, her husband. She then found out she was pregnant with her own child, finally—that was the whole reason Bella's mom had been kidnapped, anyway—and when Jonathan was five, Elizabeth found stability again, with a man named Alcazar of all people… yeah, that goes into another long story in itself, but I'll spare you from that… and now Jonathan, who is about the same age as Hope, is a perfectly adjusted and happy kid. I've met him a few times and he's pretty cool.

But anyway, as the ordering started, I looked over the menu and sighed. "I don't know what I want, Bella. What are you getting?"

"Clam chowder. The soup here is awesome."

I sighed again. "Oh, I can't get that… I'm allergic to clam."*

"That's weird," Courtney, who had just placed her order, piped up, hearing my comment. "Sonny and I both are allergic to clam, also. Being raised in a coastal town, it totally sucks."

I nodded vigorously, showing my agreement. I noticed that Bella's mom had picked up on this fact and raised an eyebrow, muttering to herself. I was honestly starting to think that she knew something, if not everything, about my situation, and I needed to find out if she did.

"But you know what's really weird?" Sonny added. I looked at him directly for the first time. "What?"

"I don't think I've ever met anyone besides my sister who's allergic to clam. You're the first."

"Yeah, that is kind of strange," Hope agreed, and Bella's mom continued to mutter to herself.

"Well, then," Bella interrupted, "why don't you get that, instead?" She pointed to something on the menu, and by that time, Elizabeth had gotten to me. I nodded and smiled up at the pale woman, putting in my order for chicken fingers. Why exactly do they call them fingers anyway? I shrugged in my inner thoughts and then focused on the task at hand. So I had looked at Sonny. That wasn't too hard to do. I recognized the eyes instantly—they were ones I saw in the mirror every day. My hair was wavy like his, but quite a bit lighter. There was a resemblance, I noticed. And that scared me. What if smart people—like Carly—figured it out? What was I to do?

After some small talk and conversation, through which I came to learn a lot more about my biological father, and found some subtle but still important similarities—like insomnia, for starters, and our love of suicides [the drink, not the actual act, mind you], and our devotion to the people we loved, our willingness to sacrifice everything if necessary… I mean, I was sure the DNA proved our connection, but this was just unsettling. And the fact that we both preferred ranch dressing to any other sauce—I was getting my chicken fingers with ranch, for instance. Bella smiled at me, amused, as she watched me eat my food. I have the weirdest way of eating my chicken fingers, and I don't know why—I cut all of them in half first, then those halves in half, and then I drizzle ranch on top of them and then eat them with my fingers. I know it's kind of… well… uncivilized, but it's good. I also noticed that Sonny had an identical amused expression on his face, just like Bella's. "What?" I protested.

"Nothing, that's just funny. I've never seen anyone eat like that—you are quite unique, you know that, Kristina?" Sonny mused, as he watched me eat my food.

"Is that a good thing?" I retorted.

Sonny nodded. "I'd believe so."

And after that, suddenly the tension was broken—for me, anyway—and I was able to see this man for a real person and not a shadow of my own existence, not as my biological father, but as Sonny Corinthos. That was good. I wasn't so nervous anymore, I was able to loosen up and tell everyone at the table something they didn't already know about me, save Jason and Bella, while still being very careful about exactly what I said. By the time lunch was done, even Carly was smiling, too.

"Well," Sonny announced, after everyone was eating and was just talking, "I hate to leave you all now, but Carly and I must go; we've got a prior appointment."

"Yeah, Jason and I and the girls are going somewhere this afternoon as well," Courtney followed suit.

So everyone said their goodbyes, and in the midst of it, I could hear Bella's mom asking her where she was gonna be.

"Um…" She looked at me. We somehow had this thing where we could pick up on each other's feelings, and I think she knew that I wanted to talk to her about this whole DNA fiasco. "I'm gonna hang out with Kristina for a while," she decided, and smiled at me.

"Okay, but don't stay out too late, okay? And be careful."

"Alright, Mom." Bella gave her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. Love you." I watched her a bit enviously, knowing that the same reality I used to have was now so unstable that it may not even be there anymore. I sighed, and then I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Kristina, are you okay?"

I turned to see Jason, and smiled. "I'm fine. I'll be okay."

"Alright… but if you need to talk to me, you know where to reach me."

"Thanks, Jase." I hugged him goodbye and waved to Courtney and the girls. Justine waved merrily and skipped out after her mother and sister. I smiled. That girl was so cute.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Bella asked me.

"What? Oh, yeah. Let's go."

We wandered in the general direction of the park, and sat down on a bench. Bella looked at me and asked, "Kristina, what's wrong?"

I sighed heavily. "Everything."

"Well, tell me from the beginning."

I nodded. "Okay… it all started yesterday, when the doorbell rang and I went to get it. All of a sudden this lady that I've never seen before comes in, and starts to ask for something, but then she sees me and goes, 'Kristina?' and hugs me, right? And I'm like, 'Okay, I don't know you,' I mean I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, but you know, I don't know her, right? Or I didn't."

Bella nodded in agreement and then urged, "Go on."

"Okay. So Skye—Mom—comes down the stairs after hearing my grandfather Alan yelling at this lady, right? And so they get into an argument—the lady and Skye—and somehow it slips out that the lady is my mom, my real mom."

"Wait… so you mean Skye isn't your biological mother?" Bella asked incredulously.

"That's right. That's why I'm calling her by her name. But don't worry—this is just the beginning of the story.

"It turns out that the lady is Alexis Davis, who's actually a Cassadine. And I'm like, 'Okay, so why am I with Skye and my dad when Skye's not my mom?' So I go to Alexis for answers. I mean, she's the one with all of them, right? She has to know my true parentage. 'Cause like, Skye was yelling at her for not being a fit mother or something like that, so I went to go hear her side of the story."

Her eyes wide, Bella leaned in closer, wanting to hear more.

"So I went to Wyndemere, saw Nikolas, because I knew he knew Alexis, and then it turns out that she was staying there. So I go to see her, ask her questions, you know? I wanted to know why I was with Skye and my dad instead of her, what were the circumstances of the arrangement… it was crazy. She told me that she had gotten herself pregnant after a one night stand with a man who was already married and better yet, his wife couldn't have kids. Anyway, so she told Ned about it, and he pretended to be my dad to protect my mom. At the time, he was going out with my aunt—my namesake, I was named after her—and so she got hurt and like, left him or something, I don't know. Anyway, while my mom was still pregnant with me, my aunt got killed because she walked into a trap meant for someone else. So my mom went crazy, she loved her sister—she had just found her—and killed the guy whom she thought was responsible for her death, and then I was born. I guess I had some complications 'cause I was born really early, and had to be in the NICU for a while. So then my mom got charged with murder and was gonna be locked up, but she didn't want to be away from me, so she faked insanity and said her alternate personality killed the guy. And then, people found her to be an unfit mother to me, so there was a custody battle. Mind you, no one knew that Ned wasn't really my dad except for my mom and my biological father's wife." I stopped and gasped in realization. "Oh my gosh. That's how she knew."

"Who? Who knew what?" Bella asked eagerly.

"Oh… nothing. Let me finish my story first. Anyway, so Ned got custody of me, and then he fell in love with Skye, but don't worry, they're not really related so it's okay, and that's how I was raised."

Bella nodded again, taking in everything. "So… did she tell you who your biological father is?"

I nodded. "That's the hard part."

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Yeah, it can." I took a deep breath before disclosing the news to her. "Bella, my father is your father. We're sisters."

The look on Bella's face was priceless. "What? You mean… oh, wow. That's why my mom was acting all weird around you."

"Yeah, I think she knows." I sighed again and then said, "Bella, you have to promise you can't tell anyone. This is going to ruin things so much."

"Kristina, my dad has to know. He would want to know if he had another daughter somewhere. I know him."

"Okay, but what am I supposed to tell him? 'Yeah, hi, remember me, I'm one of your daughter's friends, but actually I'm really her sister, see you're my dad 'cause you had a one night stand with my mom, Alexis?' Or, 'I know you don't know me that well, but I think we should get to know each other 'cause you're my dad?' I don't know, Bella. I can't spring that news on him just like that."

"Well, then… tell Jason."

"What?"

"Tell Jason. He'll know what to do."

I thought over this option. It seemed logical. I was planning on telling him anyway. "Okay," I said slowly. "I will."

"Good." Bella sighed, not unlike I had been doing lately. "Wow, that is a lot of news to learn in two days. No wonder you seem so pensive."

"Yeah… I'm worried. I told both Skye and Ned. Skye freaked out a bit, but Ned knew the whole time. I'm just worried I'll be kicked out of the house and won't have a place to stay."

"You could stay with us," Bella suggested.

"I wouldn't want to do that—I'd feel like a burden," I admitted. "Yeah, if I do get kicked out, where am I supposed to stay? I'm raised as a Quartermaine, my mom is a Cassadine, my father is a Corinthos… what happens during the holidays? Who do I go to? Which family do I sit with at dinnertime?" I put my head in my hands. "I'm so worried that I'll feel like I won't fit in anywhere but have everywhere to stay, you know?"

Bella put her hand on my back reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll be okay. You're strong. You're a Corinthos, remember? And you're not only my best friend, but my sister. I'll be there for you even if no one is."

"Thanks, Bella." I smiled tearily and hugged her.

"Of course, that's what I'm here for." We sat there in silence for a minute and then Bella looked at her watch. "Hey, Kristina, I'm really sorry, but I have to leave."

"That's okay. I better get going home anyway—I have a feeling the whole house is gonna know soon and I'll have to figure out what to do from there."

Bella nodded. "Remember, I'll be here if you need me."

"Okay. Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Only if you promise to tell Jason."

I narrowed my eyes. "You drive a hard bargain."

She shrugged. "Get it from my dad, I guess." 

I smiled. "I guess. See you later, Bella."

"Bye, Kristina." With one last parting hug, we went our separate ways. I turned to walk towards the Quartermaine mansion when a familiar figure popped up out of nowhere. "How long have you been standing there?" I asked, alarmed.

"Long enough," the cold voice known as Loren Spencer replied. "You know, you shouldn't have conversations like that in the park. People can easily eavesdrop."

"Like you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Maybe," he answered, folding his arms across his chest. "Don't look at me like that, Kristina. It's your own fault that you weren't careful enough. Unless you want the whole world to know your so-called 'secret.' Although if people are smart enough, they'd figure it out for themselves—you do have many of the traits that your parents have."

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" I nearly pleaded, hating to have to beg.

He shrugged. "Depends. Probably not—why should I? It's not my place to tell."

I was so relieved that I threw myself at him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you." I looked up at him, then realized what position I was in, and quickly detached myself. "Sorry."

He just shrugged and walked away. I stared after him, wondering what it was about him.

*Okay, so I've never met anyone who's allergic to clam—but it can happen, right?

Review! Please! I love your kind words! I'm addicted! =D (Hey, I was just reading the last part of this chapter, and when Loren comes out and starts talking to Kristina—totally reminds me of how Lucky and Lydia are right now on the show. Does anyone sense an impending romance between those two…? =D)


	7. Chapter Six

AN: I'm back! The story is still going! I'm losing steam for it, though. But don't worry, I will crank out at least another chapter. =D

This chapter is dedicated to Amethyst Beloved and Shamira, two of my original reviewers. For Amethyst Beloved, because her long-awaited Dillon + Georgie cameo is included in this chapter—actually, it's a big part (I saw them on Monday's ep—TOO CUTE!); and for Shamira, because she wasn't willing to part with this story! Plus they give awesome reviews. =D So to the two of you—this one's for you!

Hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: Okay, so all the people you don't recognize are mine, okay?

*

Golden Child

Chapter Six

Shaking my head, I decided that it was best if I just left and so I made my way back to the familiar Quartermaine mansion, thoughts of Loren spinning through my head. As I drew closer to the mansion, however, I could hear incoherent shouting, and I winced. I really hoped it wasn't about me.

I finally got to the front door and lo and behold, there stood my uncle Dillon and his new wife Georgiana—but that's such a formal name for her; we all call her Georgie. Anyway, they were just standing there, apparently confused by all the screaming. "Dillon, I don't think it's a good idea to go in there," Georgie told him, apprehension apparent in her tone of voice. "It sounds serious."

"Nah, they always sound like that," Dillon said, brushing it off. "You should know better than that, Anna—remember all those times back in the day? You know how dysfunctional my family is."

"Yeah, that's why I married into it," she replied, smiling at the nickname that only he called her, giving her husband a small kiss. I smiled. They were adorable. As Dillon pulled away, he turned and saw me. "Hey, you! How long have you been standing there?"

"A few minutes. Why are you standing out here?"

Dillon smirked. "Anna here doesn't want to go inside 'cause she thinks it's serious. But I told her, it's always been like this. Hasn't it, Kristy?"

I nodded. "Yup." Dillon had a thing for funky nicknames. "So do you want to go in? I'll walk in with you, if that's what you want."

"Okay, sure," they agreed, and I went to open the door, but I stopped with my hand on the handle. "Just brace yourselves. I think I know what this arguing is all about."

They looked at me questioningly, but they didn't have time to ask because just then, I threw the door open and the sound of the argument hit us full force.

It seemed that everyone was there—most of the argument was going on between Great-grandfather and Skye, and I smiled wretchedly as I realized what was going on… my biggest fear… I was going to be kicked out.

"What do you mean, she's not family? We raised her, Grandfather! You were grooming her to be your heiress! Every single child you touch has some problem—it's a miracle Kristina didn't grow up to be the person you wanted her to be!" Skye was yelling.

"It's probably because she doesn't have any Quartermaine blood running through her anyway! I knew something was wrong with her when she was growing up! How could anyone not want to be part of this family?"

At that, snickers could be heard from all over the room. "My point exactly, Grandfather. Do you think we all enjoy being Quartermaines?" 

"What are you talking about, Skye? You're not a Quartermaine, either."

At this, the man I had come to know as my grandfather entered the fray. "But you welcomed her into the family just the same. And when it came out that she wasn't a member by blood, you let her stay. Now she's asking you to do the same thing for Kristina—why won't you let her?"

"She has nothing to offer me. Besides, she's a spawn of that unstable woman Alexis, I bet she'll turn out exactly like her mother."

I stood there, horrified at Great-grandfather—no, Edward's—words, and before I could yell anything back to defend myself, Dillon did it for me. "How dare you insult Kristina when she's standing right here in front of you? One day, you think she's the future of this family and you lavish her with gifts and treat her well, and then when you find out she's not your flesh and blood, you turn on her? God! All you care about is the money and the power you have from being a Quartermaine! I'm so glad I didn't have to grow up around this house," Dillon cried, throwing his hands up in the air and turning to leave. Georgie grabbed his arm to calm him, while everyone else stood around, shocked into silence. Many—too many—pairs of eyes were boring into me. Finally, AJ was the first to speak.

"I… we didn't see you there."

I scoffed. "Obviously not." I narrowed my eyes at him. "So, do you agree with Edward? Do you think I have no place in this house?"

"You have no right to address me like that, Kristina," Edward spat bitterly.

"Excuse me? After denying me and insulting me, you have the _audacity_ to say that to me? I can call you whatever the hell I please, _Edward_," I retorted, just as icily.

"Kristina, watch your language," Ned said warningly. I complied with a short nod and mouthed "sorry" to him. "You kept me in your home for sixteen years, you tried to bribe me, groom me to be your heiress, since you didn't think anyone else was worthy enough, attempted to taint me from the day I arrived in this house, as an innocent child, and now that you find out that I'm not a 'pureblood,' you want to kick me out, just like that? Fine! I'll leave—I don't want to stay here anyway. Not with the likes of you around." I proceeded to run up the stairs and straight to my room, throwing a suitcase onto the bed and throwing things angrily at it, and as a result, not really successfully getting things actually into the suitcase. I could hear the renewed, angry shouts of my so-called family below, and also, a few sets of footsteps. I heard a soft knock on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Who is it?" I replied cautiously, still throwing things into my suitcase, albeit not as hard.

"It's… it's Georgie," a soft voice said from the other side of the door. Gratefully, I opened the door to her and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry you had to see all of that."

"Yeah, so am I. They have no right to treat you like that," Georgie sympathized, picking up the things I had missed in my throwing rampage and folding them neatly as I began to vent on her.

"I know! They kept me here for all of my life, Great-grandfather trying to get me to be the next great Quartermaine heiress, after Emily married Nikolas… he tried to bribe me, to buy me, you name it, he tried to groom me to take her place. I mean, it was irritating, and I didn't give in to it, but knowing that he saw me as the promise of the Quartermaines, and then after finding out that I'm not blood related, he does a complete one-eighty and denies me? And to top it all off, my mother—Skye—isn't blood related, but even before she married Ned, they knew that, and they still kept her in the house. That is so unfair! And I talked to Alexis, and I heard her side of the story, how Ned and Skye stole me away from her… God, I don't know what to think anymore, Georgie! It's like, my life has turned upside down."

"Wait, wait… if you're not related to the Quartermaines, then… who are you?"

I smiled feebly. "I'm still Kristina. But I'm not a Quartermaine, nor an Ashton. I am a Cassadine… and a Corinthos."

Georgie gasped. "No way."

I nodded. "Yup. It turns out my best friend is my half-sister, which is really cool, but I mean… when you find out that everything you know is a lie, it's just… weird."

Georgie nodded sympathetically. "I know, Kristina. I'm sorry. But I know you can get through this. You're a tough cookie."

"Thanks for your faith in me, Georgie. At least someone thinks I'm worth something."

"Kristina, just because you're not the person you thought you were doesn't mean that you've lost any of your value. You're very strong, very independent, and I know that no matter what you'll come out on top. Now, if you're gonna leave, and gonna leave fast, I suggest that you finish packing."

I smiled—a real smile. "Thanks, Georgie."

"Of course." I went and gave the older woman a hug, telling her, "I'm glad Dillon married you." With that, she smiled brightly, and then left, but not before she said, "If you need anything, just let us know, okay?" Georgie had calmed me down considerably and now I could think a little more clearly. So, I was leaving. Finally. I was packing up, trying to figure out how much I could pack into one suitcase while leaving as little as I could behind, when a sudden realization crossed my mind. Where would I go? I didn't want to impose on Bella and her family—our father didn't even know about me yet. I didn't want to go to Wyndemere, although I knew they had the room—it was just too creepy for me. I didn't want to impose on Dillon and Georgie either; they were young and didn't need a burden like me. I sighed heavily. I should have thought of that before I went into my hysterical fit… but what could I do now? Great-grandfather—Edward—was expecting me out of the estate, and I didn't want to stay anyway. I decided to just leave and take things from there. 

After I had packed enough stuff that I thought I could survive on, I bid a goodbye to my room and marched confidently out the door and down the stairs. The shouting match had subsided to a glaring competition, but that stopped when they saw (and heard) me. Skye looked helplessly at me. "Kristina, are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "No one wants me here anyway." I waved my hand around at the other members of my so-called family for effect.

"Kristina, you know that's not true. Your father—Ned and I, you know we love you," Skye retorted.

"I… I don't know, Skye. I know that, but I don't think I can stay here any longer, knowing these people don't want me here." Skye nodded understandingly, while Ned asked, concern evident in his expression, "Kristina, where are you going to stay? You're just sixteen."

Seeing the many expectant faces of the Quartermaines, looking for a smart answer, as if they were testing me, I drew closer to the man who raised me and whispered, so only he and Skye could hear, "I don't exactly know yet. But don't worry about me… I promise I'll be safe, and that I won't go anywhere that's harmful. And I'll call you."

Skye nodded. "Okay. Now go. The way they're looking at us is quite disconcerting."

"Okay. I will miss you," I admitted, giving the only parents I had known big hugs, fighting desperately to keep the tears prickling at the back of my eyes from falling. Ned and Skye returned my hugs, saying, "We'll miss you too, Kristina. Stay safe, okay?"

Nodding, I pulled away from them and began the so short, but ever so long journey to the front door, feeling like a rejected, outcast contestant in some warped-out reality TV show. I smiled ruefully at the irony—this wasn't a TV show, this was my life. I could feel all their eyes scrutinizing me, and finally, as I reached the front door, I put my hand on the doorknob and turned to face them. "I really, truly hope that the next life you touch won't be as screwed up as mine, and that you could learn to think about others before yourselves," I told them, sincerely. And with those parting words, I opened the door and strode confidently through it, not looking back as the door slammed behind me. I could hear the renewed shouting, but as I walked farther and farther away, it faded into the background, just as my past as a Quartermaine was beginning to fade.

It was beginning to get dark as I wandered around Port Charles, trying to think of my options. And frankly, they were running out. I could go to Wyndemere, but that was my last resort. I didn't want to stay with Bella… and I couldn't stay in a hotel forever… but… I could stay with Jason. The question was, did I want to? I stopped walking—as Jason's place was in a different direction—and hesitated. If I went there, they weren't likely to ask what was wrong, but then Hope would want to know… Justine would be too young to understand. I sighed. I wish I was her age, seeing the world through innocent eyes, not having to deal with the difficulties of life. Maybe I would go see them after all. As I got up, I heard a rustling in the bushes and turned around. "Hello?"

Nothing. I gave the bush a strange look, and then turned to go again, when I realized something was in front of me and I screamed.

"Hey, it's okay. It's just me."

I looked up into Loren's eyes. "So it is." I crossed my arms over my chest. "What brings you here? Do you just randomly wander around the park, hiding in the bushes all the time?"

He shrugged. "Bad timing, I guess. You always seem to catch me when I'm sneaking around, huh?"

"Actually… yeah," I realized. He gestured to my bags. "What's the deal?"

"I got kicked out of my house."

"That sucks. Hey—I have an idea. Do you…" he hesitated slightly. "Do you need somewhere to stay?"

I looked at Loren, bewildered. "Why do you care?"

"I know you need a place, so I'm trying to be nice—I know there are options like under a bridge, or below a tree… do you want to stay with me?"

My eyes widened. "What about your parents?"

Loren waved a hand. "They wouldn't care. Don't worry about it."

"In that case…" I nodded slowly. "If it's not too much trouble for you…"

He sighed, nodded, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Follow me."

Review! Review! Next chapter—Loren and Kristina bonding time! Find out the deal with what really happened to Summer… and Lucky.


	8. Chapter Seven

AN: Only 4 reviews on the last chapter? And two from the same person? I'm disappointed. =( But to my three reviewers, thank you. =D

I have made an interesting plot twist in my head and therefore, this story will be considerably longer than I thought it would. The rating will probably go up as well.

Anyway, enjoy, and REVIEW! Please? =D

Disclaimer: Not mine, go away. Only Loren and… well, Loren, and Amanda and Justine and Jonathan. But that's all.

*

Golden Child

Chapter Seven

          Dubiously, I followed Loren's retreating form through the park, slightly embarrassed at the squeaking noises my bulky piece of luggage was making. I followed him deeper and deeper, into the woods that surrounded the forest, trying to keep up while struggling with my stuff, while wondering what I was getting myself into, until a clearing came into view and what appeared to be a… trailer park? I sighed.

          "Hey, I know it's not what you're used to, being a rich girl and all, but it's all I've got," Loren said sheepishly, apparently hearing my sigh of dissatisfaction, with not even a hint of sarcasm or coldness in his voice.

          "Um… Loren?"

          He turned. "Yeah?"

          "I… why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? I thought you didn't like me."

          He nodded. "That's the impression I was giving you. But when I saw you, all packed up with nowhere to go, my heart went out to you. I do have a heart, you know," he protested, after catching my raised eyebrow. "I've been there. And besides, you _did save my life."_

          "Oh," was all I could say, as he continued to lead me into the trailer park and through some old, stinky trailers, until we got to one that was a lot nicer than the rest. It was this one that he turned to, and opened the door and let me in. "It's not much," he admitted, as I put my stuff down and looked around, "but it's home."

          It was a lot better than I had expected. It was a bit small, but much bigger than the rest of the surrounding trailers. It was clean, too. It had a decent sized bathroom (from the looks of it) and two areas for sleeping. I smiled. "Oh, Loren, this is better than I could have imagined, except staying with family," I told him. "Thank you so much."  
          "Yeah, well… are you hungry?" he asked suddenly. "Cause I am."

          I grinned. "Actually, I'm not too hungry, but I'll have a bite to eat," I told him.

          "Okay. Is… " he thought carefully. "You know, I don't usually cook much, other than heating up stuff like Top Ramen, but I do have one of these interesting boxed thingamajiggys. Would you want that?"

          "What do you have?" I asked him, getting up from the small table and peering in his freezer.

          "There's chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese—boxed is better, though—some pasta stuff, waffles, beef and veggies… oh, there's leftover Chinese, if you want, too."

          Somehow, I had a feeling that leftover Chinese wasn't too good anymore. So I opted for the "pasta stuff," as he called it. He took the box and attempted to open it, but I think he was confused as to how to cook it. I smiled and took it from him. "Hey, Loren, have you ever used your oven before?"

          "What? Um… there was that one time when my family went camping and I did," he said, sadly. "My mom used it to bake cookies."

          I nodded. "Oh," I said simply. It was the first mention of his mother that I had heard. So I readied the oven and put it in, and set the timer. "We're not going to be able to eat for about another half hour, so is it okay if I put my stuff away? Where do you sleep, so I can take the other end of the trailer?"

          "My 'room' is over there." He pointed to the end farther away from us. "So you can take any bed other than that." I looked around and claimed the top bunk of the bunkish area. I'd never had a bunk bed, so I thought it'd be cool. I threw my suitcase on the lower bunk and sat at the table, across from Loren. "So… what's a sixteen year old like you living in a trailer park? You are sixteen, right?"

          "Actually, I'm seventeen.* Just turned seventeen two months ago."

          "Oh." I nodded.

          "And as for living here… well… I don't have any other family. Except my aunt Carly, but… well, you know the situation there. I wouldn't want to impose. Besides, I don't think she even knows about me, anyway."

          "But you said something about… your mom?"

          He nodded sadly. "Yeah, she passed away about three years ago. I miss her so much, Kristina… she was wonderful. She was beautiful, she had this light in her eye that was just so full of life… and the thing is, she didn't have to die, either. She was murdered. Pushed off a cliff. Although people have been forced to believe that it was an accident, I know better. So did my dad. But he… well, he's not around either to help."

          "Did he…" I was afraid to ask. "Did he walk out on you?"

          Loren shook his head vehemently. "No. He was a great dad, too. But he had a thing for the Cassadines—your family, or one of them, anyway—that goes back to like, my great-grandfather or something. I don't know, you might know something. But his father had been driven insane by that feud somehow, and after my mom died, my dad blamed it on them and went crazy as well. He's in the psych ward at General Hospital—he's not that bad, but bad enough that he has to stay there. This was our trailer, our family's. My dad—see, he knew that he was starting to slip—left me this before he lost it, and he sends me money every month to help pay for it."

          I nodded. "Do you ever get lonely?"

          "Sometimes," he admitted. "I miss them so much, you know… the way we used to be. The only thing that keeps me going sometimes is finding out who killed my mother. That's what I was doing that night when we met. I was looking for clues to who did it. I don't go there often, but I do go, periodically, when I can sneak on the island."

          "Oh, Loren… I'm sorry. I didn't know your life was so hard. Mine is simple in comparison."

          "Actually…" He smiled wretchedly. "If it were, you wouldn't be in here."

          I laughed. "True."  Then Loren asked, "How did you get yourself into this anyway?"

          "Didn't you hear it all at the park?" I asked, confused.

          "Not all of it," he admitted. "Only the part where you found out that you're not a Quartermaine, but really a Cassadine and that Sonny Corinthos is your dad."

          "Well, that's the gist of it."

          "Have you told Sonny yet?" Loren asked.

          "No, I mean I just found out yesterday," I exclaimed. "I don't even know the guy. Actually, that's a lie—he's just the father of my best friend."

          Loren inhaled. "Ooh. Toughie."

          "Yeah, how do I tell my best friend's father that she's my half-sister as well? God, my life sounds like a messed-up soap opera," I said, putting my head in my hands. "And less than forty-eight hours ago, it was blissfully uneventful."

          "Life has a funny way of doing that to you," my companion advised. "You just gotta take what you have and deal with it."

          "Yeah, make lemonade, right?"

          "What?" Loren looked confused.

          "Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?'" I asked.

          He shook his head. "Not until now."

          I laughed. "You have a lot to learn."

~*~

          A few minutes later, the "pasta stuff"—linguine with alfredo sauce, apparently—was sitting on the small table, ready to eat. I frowned at the box. "Fifty-two percent sodium? You should eat healthier stuff."

          Loren just laughed. "You know, as much as it bugs, I miss that."

          "What?"

          "Women nagging me. It's been a while since a girl's been in here. It doesn't have quite the womanly touch, although I do try to keep it clean. I'm sort of a neat freak."

          I rolled my eyes, although the implication that there had been other girls in here before bothered me a bit. "Just eat your food, Loren."

          "Yes, mother," he replied, mocking my tone of voice. We sat there in silence for a while, chewing, until Loren asked, a bit ungracefully since he still had food in his mouth, "So are you going to tell him?"

          "Tell who? And don't talk with your mouth full like that, that's disgusting."

          "Sorry." He swallowed. "And I'm talking about Sonny."

          I sighed. "I know I should, but I'm so scared. What if he rejects me? Or worse, forces me to stay with him? What if I don't want to stay with him?"

          "Why not? He's the coolest mob guy ever, his wife is awesome, and you're best friends with his daughter."

          I pondered that while chewing on my food. "Yeah, maybe it won't be so bad. But how do I go about telling him? Bella said I should tell Jason."

          Loren nodded vigorously. "Morgan? Yeah, you should. You're close to him, right?"

          "Yeah."

          "Then do that. I think that would be best."

          We sat there in silence again until I asked him, "Do you hate the Cassadines as much as your father and grandfather did?"

          Loren's eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you ask that?"

          "I'm just curious."

          He leaned back. "Hate is a very strong word. I don't hate anyone. However, I have an extreme prejudice towards the Cassadines, only because I have a feeling they killed my mother. You, on the other hand, did not grow up Cassadine. Neither did your mother."

          "How do you know that?" I wondered.

          "Her last name isn't Cassadine, is it?"

          I shook my head. "No."

          "Then I take it she didn't want to be like them. Why did you want to know?"

          "Because you have a Cassadine sitting across from you right now. Part Cassadine, anyway."

          "Like I said, Kristina, you didn't grow up like that, and neither did your mother. I learned to not judge after I met you. And I'm sorry for the way I acted before when I was mean to you and everything."

          I smiled. "It's okay, Loren. I guess it's just been a hereditary thing or something."

          "You know what, I have an idea. Let's make a truce, a pact, that we won't hate each other on the basis of last name alone. Let's defy the Spencer/Cassadine feud once and for all. I know my father and my uncle Nikolas tried, and failed, but I think we can do this." He held out his hand.

          "It's a deal." I extended my hand to shake his, sealing our newly found friendship.

*Loren was originally going to be Kristina's age, or a bit older, like fourteen, but for the new direction the story's going in, I needed to age the characters. So now Loren is seventeen and Kristina is sixteen, which makes more sense for the story. I'll go back and edit chapters. And, I'm changing Amanda's name to Hope, for a reason that will be explained later. 

I was gonna write more, but this means you have at least another chapter coming, right? =D

Review! Please!!!


	9. Chapter Eight

AN: Hey, all—sorry for my long hiatus. As you all know, life has a funny way of creeping up on you and making you do necessary things. For me, it's probably the fact that I have a lot of my relatives here, and they're not exactly what you call "low maintenance." Also, my parents went away on vacation and I had to take care of the house, plus we just finished wrapping up my birthday party. (Yay!) And now, after all that—college is starting. Grr. So, it might be a while until I can write again, but, I will try my hardest. You know what's really weird? This story has evolved just from tiny snippets of plot going through my head. I sit here and start typing and then interesting ideas come from that. So I was planning for Kristina to tell Jason in this chapter, but again—it got away from me. So it will come in the next chapter. I promise.

Thanks for your awesome response to this story! Wow, a lot of people have reviewed! I feel so special. =D

And, the reason I changed Amanda's name to Hope was because of the stuff that happened on the show, with Courtney losing the baby and everything. For all of you that watch Days of our Lives, the character of Hope was named because she was her parents' hope, knowing that miracles can happen (they were in the same predicament as Journey). But now I want to change her name to Emily, because of what she asked Jason to do for her ("Jason, promise me that if you and Courtney have a daughter, you'll name her after me."). Emily Hope, that'd be a great name for a Journey love child… *sigh*… but that means I'd have to go back and change the names. Again. I don't know if I want to do that, but if you like the idea, let me know, okay? =D

Oh, one more thing (sorry, I'm rambling). Tell me if you prefer Kristy or Tina as a nickname for Kristina. You can suggest more if you want. =D

Okay, that is all. Enjoy the show! (Next chapter should be up soon—I've already started it =D)

Disclaimer: If you're reading this, you've probably already read it. And you probably don't care, either.

*

Golden Child

Chapter Eight

          It was late when Loren and I finally dozed off. We had been talking about a few things, this and that, and I discovered that he wasn't really as bad as I thought he was. As he told me more about his mother, I came to realize why, that first night, he had had that sudden change against me—it was because he thought I was prying into something that was so personal for him. We readily cleared that up and now there were no more tensions between us. After a while, I wanted to go to sleep, so Loren bid me good night and we got ready to go to bed.

          As I drifted off to a fitful sleep, somehow, I felt uneasy. Not because I was in a trailer, alone with a guy, but because I felt something was about to happen. I shook it off as a remnant of the anxiety I had felt after leaving the house and tried my hardest to fall asleep.

          It was hard, getting used to the small living quarters after living in a mansion, but it was doable. Soon, I found myself asleep, dreaming of things that were yet to come…

          _"Please! Don't do this! I didn't want this to happen—I had no control over this!" I yell, begging for mercy._

_          "I don't care! You are a reminder of things that I have been wanting to forget, and I don't need any reminders!" The blonde woman takes my hand jerkily, nearly bruising me, and I whimper in pain. "Oh, shush," she orders me, disgust laced in her voice._

_          A flash of dark hair crosses my line of sight. "Mom! What are you doing?"_

_          "We don't need her here, love. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." The woman smiles sweetly—almost too sweetly—at the young girl. I want to reach out to her, knowing she is more compassionate than her mother, so I plead with my eyes. I can't make out her face, but I know her voice from somewhere…_

          "Bella!" I gasped. I sat up straight in my bed, not remembering where I was, and hit my head on the bunk above me. "Ow." I looked around me and found Loren, in only pajama pants, his hair a bit tousled, looking at me with concern. "Kristina."

          "What… what are you doing up at this time?" I looked wearily at the bright digital clock on the microwave: it read four thirty-seven a.m. He shrugged. "I'm a light sleeper. You were rustling and saying things in your sleep, and when you hit your head, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

          I could feel myself blushing, for many reasons—one, for the newly discovered fact that I say things while slumbering; two, that a boy was seeing me, in all my unkempt glory; and three, that said boy was wearing very little. I seem to have a fetish for young men without articles of clothing on their upper bodies. Oh, and at the fact that he was still staring at me, concern and worry evident in his sapphire eyes. I could tell that even in the darkness. I attempted a smile and nodded. "I'm okay." Right as the words escaped my mouth, I could feel the dull ache, from the meeting of my head and the boards above me, set in, and I rubbed my head unconsciously. 

          Loren raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

          "Yeah." I lay back down, and I could feel the nerves in my head starting to be soothed by the soft material of the pillow.

          "So… what were you dreaming about?" Loren asked. "It sounded disturbing. You sounded upset."

          "Yeah… it's really kind of hazy, but I was being kicked out of some place. I think, though, that what was more disturbing about it was the fact that it seemed that… that I was alone, and that nobody loved me." I sighed.

          "Kristina, you know that's not true. You have aunts, uncles, and cousins that love you. The Quartermaines love you."

          I snorted at that. "I don't think any of them know what love really is." And then, I took on a wistful look. "Except for Emily… I miss her a lot, you know."

          Loren nodded. "Yeah, she was awesome."

          I looked up at him, from my position in the bed, in surprise. "You knew her?"

          "Yeah, my dad and she were really good friends. And you know, she was my aunt."

          "Oh, yeah." I would never understand the weird connections that this town had. "You know what's funny, you and I could probably be related."

          He sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. "Well, Nikolas is your cousin. He's my uncle. He's related to you through his father's side, while I am related to him through his mother's side… so I guess, technically, we're not related. But it just hurts my brain to think right now, so I'd rather not."

          I laughed. "Sounds like a plan to me."

          We sat—well, he sat, and I lay there in comfortable silence for a while longer, until Loren spoke up. "You know, I meant what I said. You're not alone. Even if you think no one else is here for you, I'll be here. And that's a promise."

          I smiled. "Thank you. I feel so… detached from everyone, you know what I mean?"

          Loren nodded. "Believe me, I know exactly what you mean. But you never know. You still have family out there. And they might welcome you with open arms, despite your dream, or vision, or premonition, or whatever you might want to call it."

          "I don't know, Loren," I said, uneasily.

          "Just remember, you won't know unless you find out."

          I nodded. "Hey, I'm gonna go back to sleep, okay?"

          "Okay. Sleep well."

          "Thanks." I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me; my last conscious thought was that I should consult with Jason tomorrow—or later, whatever—and let him know the whole story. Or was it that fleeting feeling of something soft touching my forehead…

          I woke up to a burning smell. I opened my eyes, threw back the covers, and rushed out of my corner. I found Loren, frantically attempting to put out something on top of the stove. I smiled faintly and peered at what was in the pan—it looked brown, and shriveled. There were small flames dancing around the charred substance, yet Loren was freaking out and trying everything possible to make it go away.

          "Loren, here." I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, then threw it on the stove. The sizzle and steam of the water hitting heat could be heard and seen, and he looked sheepishly at me. "You were right when you said you couldn't cook. What were you trying to cook, anyway?"

          He looked away. "Eggs."

          "But—" I looked over at the fridge, and then, on an impulse, opened it. It was now full, stocked with the rest of the eggs, a gallon of milk, some bagged salad stuff, and other basic needs. I nodded, impressed. "Wow. Where did you get all this?"

          "At the grocery store. I couldn't sleep after you fell asleep, so I made the trek out to town to go get stuff for you."

          I smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Loren. Just promise me… next time, you'll let me cook, okay?"

          "Yeah, okay. I just wanted you to have something good to eat, since you looked so upset last night."

          I smiled again. How can a guy turn from hating you to doing all these really sweet things for you? I shook my head. Guys are seriously confusing. Maybe that's how I came into existence in the first place.

          After we cleaned up the mess, and I was in charge of making the eggs, we ate, and I asked him, "What are you up to today?"

          "Nothing much—what about you?"

          "I've made a decision."

          Loren nodded, encouragingly. "And that would be…"

          "I'm going to go to Jason today, and tell him everything. I know that if anyone can help me, he can."

          "Yep, Jason Morgan, he would be the right kind of guy to go to. Well, I hope everything goes well. Remember what I said—you'll never know what will happen unless you do something about it."

          "I know, I know," I said, as I stood up and began to clear the table.

          "Just wanted you to know that you're not alone, okay? And here." He stood and took the dish from me. "Let me do it."

          I smiled, once again, at him. "Okay. Just don't… don't break anything, okay?"

          "Okay."

          "Loren?"

          He turned. "Yeah?"

          "Thank you. For being there. And for believing in me."  
          He shrugged. "Who else am I supposed to be there for?" Loren laughed. "But seriously, don't worry about it. We're here for each other, okay?"

          "Yes. We definitely are."

Okay so the ending was a bit weird, but review anyway! You guys are cool! =D


	10. Chapter Nine

AN: _Why aren't you people reviewing?_ In the words of the great King Arthur—"You make me sad." (Monty Python and the Holy Grail—great movie.)

Maybe it's because I've been on a month hiatus and now all of a sudden I'm writing again. Oh well. That's life. I shouldn't be too hard on you guys though. I'm just sad that in 48 hours I've only had one review! *cry* Oh well. Maybe it's because everyone has a life, unlike me, and therefore I should be proud of you. Never fear. Tomorrow I start college and so I probably won't be writing for a while anyway. =D Anyway, onto the story.

Oh, and I went with my gut and re-named (again) Amanda, to Hope, to Emily. I still have to go back and change the rest of the chapters, but from now on, Hope, also known as Amanda, will be Emily. Okay? =D

And now onto the story.

*

Golden Child

Chapter Nine

          Later on, I traipsed my way out of the secluded area that I had managed to find myself in, and after a few wrong turns and close calls, I found my way back to town. I sighed as I walked the familiar paths, wondering what I would say to Jason. He'd always been a great listener, never judgmental, so I knew that he would be supportive. But I also knew that he would want Sonny—my father—to know, and he would pester me about it. I sighed. _Come on, Kris, you have to do this. Trying to fight the fear that had taken over, I dragged myself over to Harbor View Towers and walked into the elevator. I was a bit shaky as I waited for the elevator to reach the top floor—I am a bit uncomfortable with elevators. But anyway, when it did reach the top floor, I was greeted by Marco, one of the guards that stood by the doors._

          "Hello," I greeted him, politely. He eyed me questioningly. "Who are you?"

          "Kristina… Ashton." I decided to go with the name people knew me by. "I'm Jason's niece."

          "Ah." He nodded in understanding. "I do believe Mr. Morgan is available at the moment. Let me show you in."

          "Thank you." I smiled and followed him obediently as he opened the door to Penthouse Four and ushered me in. "Mrs. Morgan, your husband has a visitor." I presented myself and Courtney smiled. "Thank you, Marco." He nodded and closed the door, while Courtney offered me a seat and a drink. "Hey, Kristina. What brings you here?"

          "I… I have to talk to Jason about something. I guess you can know, too, if you want."

          "Do you want me to?" Courtney asked.

          I shrugged. "I don't think it matters. You'll probably find out anyway, because it has something to do with you, too."

          Courtney appeared thoughtful. "If you want me to be here when you tell Jason whatever you need to tell him, then I'll be here. If you don't, I have plenty of things to do. Sorry my house doesn't look clean at the moment."

          I blushed. "Yeah, I didn't think to call."

          "That's okay. My husband and brother live on spontaneity. I'm used to it." I laughed. Just then, I heard two voices coming from the stairs. "But Daddy, I want to see her!"

          "Em, listen to me. I know she's your friend, but I know she needs to talk about really important stuff, okay? I'm sure she'll tell you when she's ready."

          I heard a defeated sigh and looked up to see Emily peeking behind a corner of those stairs. I waved a little at her, then established eye contact with my uncle as he walked down the stairs. "Hey, how's my favorite niece?"

          I laughed. "I'm your only niece."

          "That's not true; Bella's my niece too."

          "Only by marriage." He smirked and took a seat across from me. "So, what brings you here?"

          "Can I not just come by and see you for no reason?" I asked innocently.

          "Well you could, but you haven't pleasured me with that yet, so I don't think I'm that special." He mock-pouted and Courtney hit him playfully. "Seriously, though, what's up?"

          "I… I found something out two days ago, something that turned my world upside down. And… it involves other people, and it's big news, and I don't know how to break it to the people involved, but I know that they—he—has to know."

          Jason narrowed his eyes. "Are you pregnant?"

          I raised an eyebrow. "No!"

          He shrugged. "Okay, just checking. And Em, I know you're hiding, so don't even try anything," he added, loudly. I smiled as I could hear Emily clomping upstairs. "Continue, please."

          "Um… well… two days ago, I found out that Ned and Skye aren't my biological parents."

          Jason nodded, the sign that I should continue on.

          "And, well, I found this out because a woman named Alexis came and it somehow slipped that she is my birth mother." Courtney raised an eyebrow at this news. "So I wanted to know exactly how I ended up being raised as a Quartermaine, so I went to go see her. Apparently she is back in town after a long period of time. But anyway, she told me everything I needed to know, the circumstances of my history. And Jason… this is a really huge deal, so don't flip out. But… I asked her who my father was… and she said… she said that…" Suddenly, I couldn't find the words.

          "Who is it, Kristina?" he asked, sharply. With that tone of voice, and his steely gaze, I wondered how anyone who was ever interrogated by him could not say anything and stay sane.

          I lowered my head. "Sonny Corinthos."

          Courtney gasped, while Jason looked at me incredulously. "No."

          There was a pregnant pause, and then he asked, "Does he know yet?"

          I shook my head. "That's why I came to you first, Jason. I was hoping you could help me break the news to him. You are my favorite uncle—still, don't worry—and you are like his best friend. Somehow I think it would be easier if you were there with me."

          Jason nodded. "Yeah, for someone who doesn't know him, you seem to read him pretty well."

          Shrugging, I told him, "Well, he is my best friend's father. She's told me about him."

          He nodded again. "Okay. I'll be there. But Kristina, he needs to know, so don't keep it from him for too long, okay?"

          I sighed. "Okay." Just then, there was a sharp knock at the door, and I jumped. Courtney placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder as Jason went to open the door. Sonny and Bella were on the other side.

          "Sonny, what's wrong?" Courtney asked, as we could all tell he was distraught.

          "Carly… car… hospital… Roscoe…" was all that Sonny could get out. At this, Jason's eyes narrowed. "Do you want me to hunt him down?"

          Sonny nodded, and Jason looked sympathetically at me. "Don't say anything until I get back," he mouthed. I nodded, and then Courtney asked, "Carly's in the hospital?"

          "Yeah… it's… apparently, it's bad. They wouldn't let me see her."

          Courtney nodded. "Do you… do you want me to go over there?"

          "Please." It wasn't just a request, it was a plea. 

          "Okay. Sonny, you're in no state to be going out. Just stay here, okay?"

          "But—"

          "Sonny, please."

          He sighed in defeat. "Fine. But the moment you hear something—"

          Courtney nodded. "I will call you. Don't worry, Sonny. I'll take care of her." She waited as Jason got himself ready and then said goodbye to me. "Kristina, I'm really sorry about this."

          I waved a hand. "Don't worry, I'll be okay."

          "Can you… can you watch Em and Justine for me?"

          "Definitely."

          "If you need anything…"

          I stood. "Go do what you have to do. Carly's in trouble. Sonny will be here if I need anything—it's the least he can do right now."

          Courtney smiled, relief evident in her eyes, and closed the door behind her securely. Now, it was just Sonny and me… my father and myself.

You'll find out about why the name Roscoe comes up now, and why it is a he instead of a she. You will also find out Kristina's take on why Sonny is OOC right now. (At least I think he is.) And of course, the tension mounts as Sonny and Kristina are left alone together. So. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, REVIEW!!! (Please?)

Oh, and sorry about the short chapter. Do you guys like the length of the chapters or do you want me to make them longer? Let me know. (Ha, now you MUST review! Just kidding)


	11. Chapter Ten

Golden Child

Chapter Ten

          I pondered what to say to Sonny—my dad—as he was extremely apprehensive. "Um… you know what Jason said, about the Roscoe guy? Who is he?"

          He exhaled, apparently quite irritated. "Have you heard of Faith Roscoe?"

          The name sounded really familiar. "Yeah…"

          "It's her son. Didn't know she had one until a few years ago… but I've never seen him. Supposedly he's a huge mob boss in some other city that wants to take over my territory." And then, he blanched. "Uh… forget the part about being a mob boss."

          I shrugged. "That's okay. I already know. Come on, why else would Jason be constantly running around?"

          "You're a smart one, you know that," Sonny complimented me. Then…

          "I hope Carly's okay," I said, after a few moments of silence.

          Sonny nodded. "I hope she is too. A car accident…" He shook his head. "I hate this, having my family in trouble so much. Don't get involved with the mob."

          I laughed. "Okay." But inside, I thought to myself, _Too__ late. I didn't choose who my biological father was._

          "You know, judging from the impression that I got from you and Carly, I would think that you would be over there instead of here," I told him.

          "Well, you have a pretty good judgment of my personality," Sonny admitted. "But everyone at the hospital seems to think that I do more harm than good whenever I'm there."

          I cocked my head, resting it on my left hand, and looked at him, intrigued. "Why is that?"

          "Patients get nervous. It's always because of me that Carly's in there… for some reason or other… people figured that the least I could do is just stay away so that she can rest peacefully. I don't understand that. She's my wife, you know?"

          I nodded. "Yeah. It must be hard, wanting to be by her side, but not being able to. Were you able to be in there before? I mean… you have Bella, so you must have had to have been in the hospital when she was born," I reasoned, more to myself than to him.

          Shrugging, he replied, "Yeah, but even then, I wasn't allowed to stay for long."

          "That's not right!" I exclaimed, with more force than I intended to. "Why do they discriminated against you? You're a human just like everyone else."

          "Oh well, what's done is done. I get paranoid in hospitals, anyway." Sonny mused in silence, then asked me, "So, what are you doing here?"

          My mouth conveniently decided to fail me at that precise moment. "I… uh… I came to talk to Jason."

          Sonny nodded; it seemed to be a good enough explanation for him. "You and Jason seem to be close, even though I don't see you all the time."

          "Yeah, after my official 'exit' from the Quartermaines, he understood me a lot better than any of them did. Considering he kind of went through the same thing."

          "Official 'exit?'" he asked, a questioning look on his face.

          I nodded. "Yeah, they kicked me out because they found out that…" I stopped when I realized I'd be letting out my secret.

          "Found what out?"

          "Uh… that I did something they didn't like," I covered lamely. I knew he could see right through that because Sonny said, "People in that family do things that the others don't like all the time. What was so special about your case?"

          "Actually, I didn't do anything. First of all, I found out who my biological mother was," I explained.

          "You mean you didn't know that Alexis was your birth mother?" Sonny asked, incredulously. 

          "Wait… you did?" I asked. Then I thought to myself, _What__ a stupid question. Sonny's my father. He must have known that Alexis—my mom—was pregnant, if not the fact that he's my dad._

          "Yes." That was all he would say about the subject.

          "Well, anyway, I found that out, and then they found out something else, and freaked out, and sent me packing."

          Sonny looked a little troubled by this news. "So where are you staying now?"

          "In the trailer park about a quarter-mile out of town," I explained.

          "All by yourself?" he asked, showing signs of parental concern.

          "Nope. Loren Spencer took me in as a roommate. He's pretty cool, that guy."

          My father nodded. "Ran across him a few times in my life. Not a bad kid. I feel sorry for him, though, after all he's been through."

          "Yeah, he's had a hard life," I agreed. 

          We sat there in reflective silence for a few moments, and then he asked, "What was that something else that they kicked you out for?"

          I gulped. I knew it was coming. "Well… it kind of has to do with who I am."

          Sonny just looked at me, and I continued, trying to stall for as long as possible. "I, uh… the people who raised me aren't my parents."

          "Yeah, Alexis is your mother. You have Cassadine blood running through you more than Quartermaine blood."

          "Well…" I exhaled. There was no easy way to say what I had to say. "I don't have any Quartermaine blood running through me. None whatsoever."

          I saw the questioning look on his face, and I knew he was going to ask about it, but before he could, the door burst open, and we both jumped and looked at the offending sound. It was Jason, breathing heavily. "Look who I found lurking outside."

          He had a firm grip on a woman, probably in her early thirties, with long, dark hair. Sonny's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

          "What did you do with my husband?" she asked, just as icily.

          "Roscoe? We don't know where he is. Last we heard, he ran over my wife!" Sonny countered, putting major emphasis on the words "my wife."

          "Well, he's nowhere to be found. Stupid moron, probably got himself killed in the process." She huffed. "Well anyway, I'm going now."

          "Hey, hey, not so fast," Jason said, after the woman repeatedly tried to tug herself free from Jason's grasp, but to no avail. "Sage, how did you get in here?"

          "Your dim-witted bodyguard let me in," the woman—I guess her name was Sage—smirked. Jason shook his head. "We can see right through you, Sage. Now I'm only going to ask you one more time. _How did you get in?_"

          "Why should it matter? All you know is that someone penetrated your defenses, and you're upset about it. Now, I must be off to collect my husband before he does something stupid. What a waste of time." With one last tug, she forcefully pulled her arm out and left. Jason rolled his eyes. "Marco and Benny are nowhere to be found."

          Sonny shook his head. "I don't know what they want—I've held up all my ends of all deals."

          "You know what it is? I think they think you're getting old," Jason said, and the two of them looked at each other, and then laughed heartily. Then Jason turned to me. "Sorry you had to see that."

          I shrugged. "Don't worry, I've seen much worse in the Quartermaine mansion."

          Jason nodded his head in consent. "I have to agree with you on that one."

          "Speaking of Quartermaines… what did you mean by the fact that you have no Quartermaine blood in you?" Sonny asked. My eyes darted to Jason's. "What exactly did you tell him?" Jason asked.

          "Wait, wait, what is all of this all about? What are you not telling me?" Sonny demanded.

          "Well, remember I told you I came to talk to Jason?" I reminded him. He nodded.

          "I had to talk to him about something that concerns you, but I didn't know how to tell you, so I decided to talk to him first, and that he would help me."

          "So he doesn't know yet," Jason deduced. I nodded. 

          "What don't I know? This is so frustrating," Sonny growled. "Tell me!"

          "Okay, fine. Sit down first." He obeyed and I took a deep breath to calm my zinging nerves. Jason put a hand on my shoulder to help as well. "Um… there is no easy way to say this, but…" I stopped and took another deep breath, then let my secret out.

          "Sonny… you're my dad."

Sorry for the brevity of that chapter. (Ha, big word! Brevity! Do you all know what that means? It's a fancy way of saying "length." =D) But I wanted to get it out as soon as possible for all y'all. =D

It's what you've all been waiting for… but now it's a cliffie!!! Hehehe… I'll try not to keep you guys waiting for too long, but I can't promise anything. However, Thanksgiving is coming soon. That'll give me a bit of time to write. =D       

Remember to review! Reviews are good =D


	12. Chapter Eleven

AN: I'm back! Here's chapter 11. I'm glad all of you like this story. At the rate I'm going, it'll be a while until it's done. I have a few ideas but not a real, concrete ending. Not really. But the prologue implies some things, so maybe I'll work with that.

You guys, this is the second story I've posted that has the potential to make it to 100 reviews! I would be very happy. =D *hint hint*

Hopefully updates will be more frequent, when finals are over. That's not until next week. But I am brimming with ideas. So stay tuned.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this? Honestly, you should know by now that these people aren't mine. Except the kids [not counting Michael and Kristina]. Oh, and Loren too. =D

*

Golden Child

Chapter Eleven

          Sonny stood there, speechless. "I'm your _what?_" he repeated, incredulous.

          Jason guided him to the chair behind him. "Sit. It will be easier." Sonny just nodded distractedly and obeyed. I took two tentative steps closer. "You're my dad."

          "That's why they kicked you out, huh?" he asked, softly. Then he looked at me. "Well, then, you need to get your stuff out of Spencer's trailer and into my penthouse. I'll send one of my bodyguards with you and you can share a room with Bella—"

          I raised a hand to cut him off. This was exactly what I was afraid of. "No offense, but I don't really know you. I've lived without you for sixteen years, and you're treating me like a possession instead of your daughter. I don't want to be rude and turn down your offer, but I'd rather stay in the trailer," I told him, unafraid.

          Sonny blinked. "I… uh… are you sure?"

          "I thought you'd be more upset than that," Jason commented. I caught his eye and we shared a small smile. Sonny nodded. "I probably would. But she's right. I don't really know her. However, I was hoping you staying here would change that."

          "I'll come visit, I promise. I just… I like having the independence living with Loren gives me. Living with the Quartermaines was very…" I paused, trying to come up with the exact word. "It was very stifling, and I really don't mean to offend you, Sonny, but sometimes I get the impression that living here does that to others, too."

          Sonny nodded. "You don't know how much of my character you've assessed with that one statement. Maybe you truly are my daughter." Then he blinked, as if his thoughts went elsewhere. "Why didn't Alexis tell me?"

          "Carly thought she couldn't have kids, remember?" I reminded him. Jason nodded. "Alexis didn't want to rub that in her face. And… I think she was a little selfish and wanted me for herself. God, what kind of life did I have when I was a baby?"

          "You were passed around all the time—there was a huge custody battle over you," Sonny explained. "I didn't really understand much, but… Alexis has done some things that are rather… extreme."

          "I know. She told me."

          "And you're okay with that?" Sonny questioned.

          I nodded. "I understand why she did it."

          "You know something, Kristina? You are a very perceptive and understanding, not to mention beautiful, young woman. Anyone that has you in their life is lucky. Who knew something so beautiful could come from something so… unexpected?" Sonny said, probably musing to himself more than anyone else. I found myself blushing and involuntarily smiling. Jason nodded in agreement, resting his hands on my shoulders. "You are absolutely right about that."

          "So… you're not mad or anything about… this whole thing?" I asked, still a little unsure.

          "Kristina, you are very independent. I can see that in you. I'm just concerned. I don't want anyone hurting you. You are now a target for any mob activity because you are connected to me. Especially because now you're a new target, I'm sure people will be targeting you as soon as they find out. Do you mind keeping a low profile about this? Not that I'm ashamed… it's for your own safety. I would really like it, also, if you reconsidered about staying here. It would be a lot easier to keep you safe here."

          I sighed. "I understand about keeping a low profile… but…"

          "Well, how about this compromise? If you stay in the trailer, I want you to have a bodyguard posted there at all times."

          I looked at him in shock. "Do you really think I'm in that much danger? Wouldn't that look a little… obvious?"

          "It's an extra safety precaution. I don't want to lose you now that I've found you."

          My look softened. "I understand. But I don't want someone watching me all the time. I want my independence. Loren is with me, and I know he'll take care of me… can you please just trust us?" As I heard the words come out of my mouth, I laughed inwardly. I sounded just like a regular sixteen year old asking her dad if I could date a guy. Is that how I saw Loren now? Dating material? I shook my head to clear it of thoughts while Sonny responded.

          He narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I'm not too happy about it, but I'll give you guys the chance. If anything happens to you, even once, you let me know right away, and either Marco, Max or Benny will be assigned to you. Don't be keeping things from me so that you don't have to have a bodyguard around you, either. I'm trusting you on this." The way he looked at me, I knew he meant it. I didn't want to break his trust, either. So I nodded. "Deal."

          After that was all figured out, we settled into an interesting silence—we just stared at each other for a while when I said, "Thank you."

          "I have to learn how to trust you, Kristina. I know I can be possessive. I've come to realize in my old age—" Jason laughed at this—"that I can't be a control freak."

          "Good for you," Jason announced. "I thought I'd never see the day."

          "I don't know what it is," Sonny confessed suddenly. "I just think it's something about Kristina that makes me want to change. I don't know what it is, though. It's weird."

          I felt myself blush deeply at Sonny's open confession of admiration. "Um… thank you… I guess. But that wasn't what I was thanking _you_ for. I'm thanking you for not going off on me when you found out you're my dad."

          "Honestly, it doesn't surprise me. The possibility of me being your father came up a long time ago, but Alexis denied it." He sighed. "That's another reason why I want you here. So much lost time."

          I nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry. But right now, I need my space. I'll still come to you, though. Besides, I have to visit my sister."

          "So you told him?" a familiar voice asked, and Bella came streaking out of nowhere and hugged me. Sonny smiled. "So you knew before me too, huh? Who else knew? Everyone?"

          "Oh… Nikolas, the Quartermaines, Jason, Courtney, Bella, Loren…" I ticked the people I listed off my fingers. "So yeah, pretty much half the town."

          Sonny shook his head. "Geez." Then he smiled. "Well, at least you and Bella are close already. That's always good."

          After some catching up with Bella, Emily, Sonny, and Jason, I decided it was time for me to leave. "But Kristina… you should be here with us!" Bella protested. I shot a look at our father and he had a look on his face that clearly said, "Told you so." I smirked a little, feeling my heart lift at the playful nature of the gesture. "I'll come back often, I promise."

          "Bella, when Kristina leaves, we need to talk, okay?"

          Bella nodded. "Okay, Dad. Can I accompany her out?"

          Sonny looked extremely apprehensive about this. Finally, he said, "As long as Jason goes with you." So after a few more goodbyes, the three of us headed into the elevator. "Kristina, you need to understand that Sonny's lost a lot of people close to him because of who he is. He's always thinking about what a risk it would be to you just to be connected to him. He's trying to keep you safe the only way he knows how," Jason explained as the elevator descended.

          "I know, but why does he have to be so… controlling?" I protested.

          "Keeping control is his way of making sure you're safe. I know it's frustrating. Carly hates it. It's a hard life, you know. I'm sorry you have to be a part of it."

          "I didn't choose it, but I'm not upset. Right now, I feel like I have this enormous weight that's just been lifted from me. It's a good thing. I'll worry about everything else later."

          "Be careful," Jason warned. "Be on your guard always. You never know when something will get you."

          I nodded. "Okay, Uncle Jase." I smiled. "It's good to know that some things never change."

          Jason laughed. "Very true." He and Bella walked me out the front doors of the complex, Bella telling me to come back soon, and Jason warning me again about the dangers of being connected to Sonny Corinthos. I just nodded, tired of hearing it, and walked confidently out the door. As I walked further and further into the outskirts of town, however, I was starting to become just a little paranoid. You know that feeling you get when you think you're being followed? That's what I felt like. All these things they teach you—common sense, or so they say—like to always be aware of your surroundings, walk in lighted areas, all that fun stuff… that was all running through my head. I hurried my pace so I could arrive at the park safely. It didn't help. When I was in the patch of trees that marked the outskirts of town, I felt slightly relieved—it was the last obstacle before getting to the clearing of the park. However, it was also the darkest. I tried as fast as I could to get through it, but the sun had set right as I had left, so now the first shrouds of darkness were setting in, and I couldn't see anything. I tried not to panic, but it didn't help my nerves when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I spun around. "Who's there?"

          No answer. Sighing, I told myself, _Just__ breathe. You'll be okay. You're strong. I was almost thinking of reconsidering Sonny's offer of a bodyguard when something stopped my thoughts cold: I felt myself being jerked by a pair of strong hands, leading me off in a different direction than where I was going._

AAAAH! A cliffie!!!!! Heh heh… that's an evil one, even for me. Sorry guys. But don't worry, Kristina will be okay. =D Also, let me know if you think I wrote Sonny in character. It's really hard for me to do that, but I'm trying. =D 

For all you Sexis fans: Um… I don't really like Sexis—I'm not a hater, but I just don't care for them—so there probably won't be any of that in here. This is a purely Kristina-centric story. Sorry.

Review review review!!! Please?


	13. Chapter Twelve

AN: Finals are OVER! YAY!!!! However I do have work sometimes, but it's all good. Anyway, here's chapter twelve. Hope you like it.

eve brown: Ah, thank you for the enlightenment. I have a big family too, but everyone is just an aunt or uncle or something. I don't really like that first cousin once removed thing… so from here on out, we'll say that I know about it but don't want to change it 'cause I don't like it. =D Only because it's my story. I'll save the fact for future reference when I write another story. (when? If maybe… who knows.)

Shamira: I told you this already, but I don't think Luke's insane. However… he'll come up in the story later and it will be an interesting twist. =D

Disclaimer: You really should know by now. Not mine.

Enjoy! And remember to review!!!!

*

Golden Child

Chapter Twelve

          I tried to scream, but it came out muffled because of the hand over my mouth. "Kristina, it's okay. I won't hurt you."

          My mind began to panic even more. _How did this person know my name? As I struggled to get free, I suddenly realized I knew the owner of that voice. I wrenched his hands off of me and proceeded to slap my "assailant"—hard. _

          "Loren! What the _hell did you do that for?" I exclaimed, almost furious._

          "Kristina, _be quiet," he hissed as I tried to interrupt, but he beat me to it._

          "Listen to me. Someone is following you. I'm trying to get you away from them, okay? But if you make any more noise, they _will_ find you. So I'm gonna get you out of here, and once you're safe, _then you can ask questions. All the questions you want."_

          _How does he know me so well?_ I asked myself. Loren took my hand and whispered, "This way. Try not to make too much sound." We carefully strayed away from the path I had taken, as fast as we could without tripping. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we emerged in a clearing where the trailer park was visible. We started to distance ourselves from the grove of trees, and as soon as we were a good length away from them, I started my barrage of inquiries.

          "Okay. First question—what were you doing in there?"

          Loren smiled. "Does this imply there will be a lot more?"

          I just shot him a look that said, "Duh."

          "I went to Spoon Island again," he said, simply.

          "Hmm. Two more questions—did you find anything, and, well, do you have a life?" I blurted out.

          Loren's eyes furrowed. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

          "Well, you're either lurking in bushes wherever I am, or you're off on Spoon Island trying to find evidence against whomever killed your mother. That's all you do."

          He shrugged. "What else is there to do? My mother's dead, my father's crazy, I live in a trailer park… I have to find some way of entertaining myself."

          "By stalking people?"

          "Hey, I don't follow you _everywhere you go, do I? And besides, half the time I'm saving your butt, like just now."_

          I grinned. "You have a point. Thank you, by the way. Oh… and I'm sorry about slapping you. I was just really freaked out already by the time you grabbed me—I thought you were the person following me. How did you know it was me?"

          "I figured, you'd struggle to get out, the other person would just attack me, overwhelm me and I'd be stuck there. I took my chances."

          "Why?"

          "I have nothing else to do."

          I shook my head. "You're so weird."

          "Well, you're still coming home with me, so I take it you didn't tell Sonny," Loren retorted.

          "Actually, I did."

          "And one of his thugs isn't your personal bodyguard? What did you do, brainwash him? Hypnotize him? Or even worse… turn on the irresistible Kristina charm?"

          I looked at him strangely. "I have charm?"

          "Um… well, you know, all women have some sort of it," Loren replied. I raised my eyebrows. _That was weird. "So what did you do to convince him?"_

          "It's called reasoning, Loren. You try and justify what you want through facts. I told him that you'd be here to take care of me. I didn't want someone following me around at all times. I figured since you do that anyway, I might as well use it for something."

          "So you volunteered me to be your bodyguard," Loren summarized.

          "Pretty much."

          He sighed heavily. I took that as a bad sign. "What, do you not want to be my bodyguard?"

          "It's not that, it's just… I'm used to living on my own. I don't take care of anyone else but myself."

          "But you let me live with you," I pointed out.

          "That was because I didn't want to see you homeless," Loren shot back. "But I don't want to be watching you 24/7, watching you go shopping with your friends or whatever… I have other things to do."

          "Like what? You said yourself you don't have a life."

          "Yeah, but I'd rather not have a life than watch you all the time."

          "You practically do!" I yelled.

          "Do not."

          "Do too."

          "Do not."

          "Do too."

          "Not."

          "Too."

          "Not—oh goodness, I can't believe I'm getting into this argument."

          I stuck my tongue out at him. "Haha."

          Loren shook his head. "Whatever." We had finally made it to the entrance of the park. "Seriously, though, all I need help with is when I'm by myself. Come on, walking with me from here to town is not that bad, is it?"

          "Not when I'm arguing with you like two year olds."

          I smirked. "Come on, you have to admit it's fun sometimes."

          Loren was silent for a moment, and then said, "Well, you're cute when you act like a kid." He winked at me.

          I was speechless. One minute he's saving me, the next telling me he doesn't want to be around me all the time, and then he flirts with me. I shook my head.

          "What?" Loren asked innocently, the expression in his eyes sincere. "Did I say something wrong?"

          "No," I replied softly. "Don't… don't worry about it."

          He sighed. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you sad… I just… I was just telling the truth."

          I couldn't stop myself from smiling slightly. "I know."

          We walked in awkward silence the rest of the way, until we got into our nice living quarters. "Kristina, for what it's worth, I want you to know something," Loren began.

          I turned to look at him—for I was on the other side, in my bunk area. "Yeah?"

          "I'm very proud of you for being able to do what you did. I don't know if I could do that if I were you."

          I looked at him, and again, he was showing me that sincere side. "You know something?"

          "Yes?"

          "You are a hard person to figure out," I admitted. I figured, if he could admit something, then I should too.

          He came closer to me. "And why is that?"

          "Because you're a guy!" I threw my hands up in frustration.

          Loren smirked. "It has been known that women are so much harder to figure out than men. See, all we need is food, sex, maybe a car or a TV or some electronic gadget, and we're fine. You women, you always have those emotional problems, shopping impulses, the 'I can't decide what blouse to wear' syndrome… stuff like that. And you're saying I'm hard to figure out."

          "Well, you are! The first time I met you, I saved your life. And then you decided you didn't like me because I was a Cassadine. And _then_, you follow me around, invite me to live with you, and you continually flirt and want to avoid me all at the same time. Have you ever heard of mixed signals?"

          "Of course. Now what's this about me avoiding you?" he asked, coming even closer, so that he was standing a few feet away from me. "I never said that."

          "You said you didn't want to watch me all the time—"

          "I don't. You said that yourself, you don't want someone watching you all the time. But that doesn't mean I want to avoid you."

          Loren was standing really close to me now, but surprisingly, I didn't feel threatened. "Really." Looking up, I was about to raise an eyebrow at him, when suddenly, all I could think about was how close together we were, how his amazing blue eyes were staring into mine. I could feel his breath on my lips, my eyes slowly closing, and the distance between us growing smaller, and smaller…

Hehe, you guys were right on with the Loren thing. I knew I couldn't trick you. Hehe. But here it is… another cliffie. Sorry guys. I know I'm evil. =þ. Let me know what you think okay?


	14. Chapter Thirteen

AN: Happy new year, everyone! Wow, I can't believe 2004 is here. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. Here's a Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year present to y'all… a new chapter!!! I think you'll like it. ;D

I'm gonna warn you in advance, there may be some sexual content later in this story. Tell me your preference—would you rather have it implied or not so implied? I don't want to offend anyone who doesn't want to read it, and frankly, I don't think I could write it… but I can try. Anyway let me know.

Here's the next one!

*

Golden Child

Chapter Thirteen

          As I look back on that day, I smile. Always. It's one of my cherished memories. You know those memories that you can remember every detail about? What you were wearing, the atmosphere around you, the people with you… I envision the lowly trailer we lived in, the warm June air around us, the soft buzzing of the lights and the refrigerator as the only sounds that I could hear, other than the sound of my heart beating.

          When Loren kissed me, a million things went through my mind, all along the lines of "Oh, my God!" I felt… violated, thrilled, fearful, needy, unsure, happy, crazy, and loved, all at once. Still, though, as his tender touch radiated through me, I couldn't help but melt. His lips, they felt so soft against mine, moving so slowly, carefully, tenderly, not too fast, but not super slowly, either. I couldn't think. One part of me was screaming to stop, but the other, lonely, needy part of me didn't want to. After a few more moments, the rational part of my brain took over and I pulled away abruptly. Then, of course, the non-thinking person that I am, I slapped him again. 

          He held his cheek. "What was that for?"

          "I… I'm sorry." I leaned up to kiss the cheek I had offended—twice—but I guess he was too fast, or he was intending something else, because our lips ended up touching again. This time, there were no reservations. There was passion in this kiss. I could feel Loren backing me up against the wall, his hands roaming up and down my back, our bodies pressed tightly against each other, and somehow my hands found his way to play with his hair, and even underneath his shirt. I could feel his body react when my hand grazed his chest, and a thrill went through me. And then, out of nowhere, he pulled away abruptly.

          "I…" He looked, speechless, at me. Suddenly, the tension and the awkwardness returned with a vengeance, and we couldn't even look at each other. I snuck a glance at the mirror near me to find my lips swollen and my hair slightly undone. 

          "Sorry," I whispered, after many moments of silence.

          "For what?" Loren asked, just as quietly, now only daring to look at me.

          I sighed, and touched his cheek as softly as I could. "For that." I leaned up to try and kiss it again, and as my lips made contact with his offended skin, I saw him close his eyes.

          "Did that hurt?"

          He nodded. "Please…" His voice cracked. "Please don't do that again. It hurts too much."

          "I can get you ice or something—" I began, rationality finally coming back to me, but he cut me off.

          "Physical pain doesn't hurt me." He then retreated to his end of the trailer and pulled the curtain shut. I sat in the dining area with my head in my hands. "Oh, what have I _done?" I asked myself, sighing heavily._

          I don't think either of us got much sleep that night. I could hear rustling on his side of the trailer all throughout the night. I tried cranking up my music (my current taste—Michelle Branch) to help me to sleep, but that didn't help either. It was a very trying night. Thoughts kept going through my head—what did he want from me? And, more importantly, could I give him what he needed? I knew that his life had been more solitary than anyone else I had known, so I knew any type of "relationship" (I despise that word with a passion) might be hard to start off. I didn't even know what I felt. That kiss… it was so intense, so incredible… I hadn't felt anything like it before. 

          Finally, after many, many different thoughts and not enough sleep, we met up at the table when the sun was out. We looked wearily at each other for a while, and then I asked the inevitable question, just because I could.

          "Not enough sleep, huh?"

          I could tell Loren wanted to retort, to revert back to the person I knew him as before we were living together, but that he was just too tired. So he just nodded. I studied his face and saw the ugly mark I had left him with, and I winced.

          "What, I'm that ugly in the morning?"

          His remark broke the silence and we both laughed. "No. It's your bruise."

          Loren shrugged. "It'll heal," he said simply. I knew better this time to just let it go, so I asked him, "What are you doing today?"

          He shrugged again. "I don't know. My usual."

          "You going into town?"

          "Of course, I have to follow you, right? So if you are, I will, too."

          "I'm gonna go visit Bella. I don't think I'll need you," I told him. I didn't understand why I would need my self-appointed bodyguard when I had five or six around where I was going to be.

          Loren smirked. Even in his sorry state he still had some cynicism. I shook my head. This guy was too much. "If you're gonna go visit your sister, then I have to be there."

          "Why?" I nearly whined. Granted, it's not much fun to girl talk when the guy you're girl talking about is _right there._

          "Think about it. You convinced Sonny to make me your bodyguard, and the next time he sees you, I'm not there. How does that make me look?"

          "Oh, so it's all about you now."

          "Kristina, would you rather have me as your bodyguard, or would you have one of Sonny's thugs watching you all the time?"

          "You have a point. Besides, I like you being my bodyguard. You know how to guard my body well."

          I swear, after I said that, Loren turned so red he matched his flaming red sleeping pants. "What, you do," I said simply.

          He nodded, his smile tight. "I know."

          Later, showered, dressed, and running on caffeine, we headed into Port Charles. We walked down the path, since it was daylight and easier to get around. There were still so many unsolved questions I had about the two of us. "Loren."

          He turned and looked at me. "Hmm?"

          "What would happen if I did this?" Boldly, I took his hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. I looked up at him, expectantly.

          "Okay, okay. I'm only going to say this once. I like you, Kristina, I really do. Where we go from here, time will only tell. But there's no need for conversation, asking what we are and what we aren't. Just go with what you feel, okay? 'Cause that's what I'm doing."

          Not the answer I expected. Still, though, I couldn't help the smile pasted on my face, for his hand never left mine.

          "I don't know, Loren. Going in with me isn't such a good idea…"

          "But what do you expect me to do, just stand out there while you and Bella gossip about who knows… oh, my God. I know what you two are going to talk about," Loren groaned. "This sucks."

          "Come on, it's flattery."

          "But…" He sighed heavily. "Don't tell her too much."

          "I won't. I promise. Besides, I don't think I'll have much time anyway because Sonny will be grilling me about stuff. He's bound to have found out about last night and the person who tried to get me."

          "True. Tell him not to worry. You've got me." And before I expected it, he pulled me into a close hug, just before the elevator doors opened. Once those doors to the outside world opened, our act began. I could tell already that he wanted to keep this very, very low profile, so I casually walked up to the guard at the door—Max today—and said, very politely, "Excuse me, may I see Bellatrix?"

          "You are Kristina, right?"

          I nodded. "Yes."

          "Very well." He opened the door and called out, "Ms. Corinthos, Ms…." He trailed off, for lack of a better term. "Your friend Kristina is here to see you." Max motioned for me to come in. I turned to see Loren try to proceed in as well. "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come in."

          "I'm Kristina's bodyguard!" he protested.

          "Then you wait out here. I can teach you a few things. Judging from the mark on your face, you have some things to learn."

"That was from Kristina!" Loren protested again, and as he continued, the door shut, and Bella and I laughed. "What was that all about?" she asked. "And it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Bella." We exchanged a hug. "I told you I'd come back to visit you."

My sister nodded. "I believed you. Now what brings you to see me?"

I sighed. "A whole lot, Bella. It's been an eventful twenty-four hours."

The next chapter may be a little boring. Who knows. Anyway, at the rate this is going, don't be surprised if the story isn't done by 30 chaps. Hehehe… anyway, you know what to do! OH! I'm 8 reviews away from 100!!!! You guys, that would be super awesome. *hint hint* 


	15. Chapter Fourteen

AN: I live! Sorry about this chappie, I feel like it's rushed. Tell me if you don't like it. I'll probably fix it later. It's just stupid filler stuff, nothing exciting… except the end! Hee hee…. Anyway, seriously guys, you all rock. Thanks for bringing me to just under 100 (I know you can bring me over this chapter! Hooray!) and for sticking with me through this. Sorry about the sporadic updates, but life is so hectic right now. Aah. I have midterms coming up, plus my stupid emotional problems that want to take advantage of me right now, along with work and a boyfriend and church and all that good stuff. So, sporadic updates will have to do.

I'm also wanting to start a story about four people – Morgan, Kristina, Liz's unborn baby (who will probably be named Jonathan from earlier chapters if you don't remember) and a new char that will be Gia's daughter and how their lives interact. It's gonna be kind of a romance but not really. We'll see, I have to work out the basics. But look for that. 

Time to answer reviewer's responses…

_courtjasnluvr87_: Loren's 17. Kristina's 16.

_Shamira_: Hey I was reading your review on this other story (the one with Damian, you know?) and I feel really bad about your $300+ MS Word problemo. I got mine bootlegged (shhh!!! Don't tell!) and so I'm wondering if my MS Word can work and be your MS Word too, but yeah, let me know what kind of Windows you have and we'll work from there. Glad you love this stuff! I have a special surprise in store this chapter, I think you'll like it.

_benbrattlover: Great comments. I'm trying to work on it so that there's everything in here, from familial relationships to romance to everything in between, but I'm trying to make this Kristina-centric, not Sonny-centric or Alexis-centric or even Loren-centric. Therefore anything that is important to her will be highlighted. Don't worry, you'll see Alexis soon enough. Thank you for that though. _

To you and all my other reviewers – _MizMorgan_, Cassie, SaMaRa KrYsTaL, Amethyst Beloved, Bubbles, Debra, Irish Contessa, brazenblong2getha, C.C. Carz, Rachel, ReedGirl, browncutiemom, maliek, Sister of the Moon_ (I didn't know you reviewed this! I feel so special!), _Becca___, IloveJason (hehe me too!), __Manda_, Katriona, Kate, Angie, Ally(_ie?), __Dee, Meg, JasonandSarkLover125, AllHart, evil-cleo, Robin, Morgan450, cleopatra, T, nalini layla, "a person", Zsa Zsa Zau, eve brown (thanks for the clear up with the cousin thing!), _Lily, and Allana_ (If you reviewed and I didn't mention you, I'm sorry! =( there are just so many people who reviewed!) – thank you so much for all your positive feedback and constructive criticism. Let me know if you have any ideas, I'll see if I can work it into the plot. _

Enjoy this chapter. And don't make me repeat the disclaimer; I think you know the drill by now.

*

Golden Child

Chapter Fourteen

          "So… what are you all giddy about?" Bella questioned me. I grinned involuntarily again and said, "Am I really that obvious?"

          She nodded. "Besides, I'm your best friend and your sister. And what happened to Loren's face?"

          "Oh, I slapped him twice last night. One for scaring me on the way home, 'cause I thought he was going to kidnap me, and then again… for kissing me."

          "He kissed you?" she nearly screeched. I laughed and nodded. "Oh, yeah. But don't be so loud 'cause he's right outside and he said he didn't want me to tell you too much."

          "Okay, I'll be quieter." She lowered her voice some decibels and then continued, "So, how was it?" My sister grinned wickedly. "Judging by the look on your face, it must have been pretty good."

          "That it was," I agreed. Bella smiled. "Oh, Kristina, I'm so happy for you."

          "Thanks. We're not one of those official things though, we're just seeing how it goes," I warned her. "So keep it low profile, okay?"

          She sighed. "My sister, you have much to learn. Nothing that has to do with Sonny Corinthos is ever low profile. Trust me, any of my love interests have learned that the hard way. You can try, but it will get back to you one way or another."

          I just stared at her. 

          "Oh, come on, Kristy, it's not like you've never dealt with it before living as a Quartermaine," Bella chided. "But of course, what you really have to worry about is Sonny Corinthos himself."

          "Yeah… I figured that. God, how many people do I have to deal with? Ned, Skye, Sonny… at least I know you support it."

          "As long as you're happy, Kris, that's all that matters," Bella said. However simply it was stated, I felt there were volumes of implications, like that she didn't really like it that it was Loren I was with. "Just be careful."

          "Why would you say that?" I wondered out loud. 

          "You never know."

          Later, when were done girl talking (Bella got a kick out of Loren's reaction to my comment about guarding my body well), I decided I was going to go. "So soon? You haven't even said hi to Dad yet."

          "Is he here?" I questioned her, knowing that he wasn't, somehow.

          "Well, no," she admitted.

          "Then tell him that I said hi. Don't say anything about last night, I don't want him to be freaking out on me."

          "And why would he be freaking out on you?" a voice asked. I spun around to find Sonny walking through the door, holding a sleeping Justine in his arms. "I went to visit them, you know, and the little one here jumped into my arms and didn't want to leave—she fell asleep. So I'm just going to let her sleep on the couch for a while, okay?"

          "Sounds good to me," Bella agreed, and we moved aside so Sonny could put our little cousin down on the couch. He lay her down gently, then turned to me. "You didn't answer my question. Why would I be freaking out on you?"

          I sighed heavily. There was no getting around this, was there? "Someone grabbed me last night when I was walking home." It was the truth, but I purposely left out the part about someone following me.

          "I knew this was a bad idea. You should be staying here, Kristina. What happened to the guy who was supposed to be watching you? The Spencer kid?"

          "Loren? He was the one who grabbed me."

          Sonny visibly softened just a little. "Oh." He appeared to be in thought. "Well you were lucky this time. It could have easily have been someone else who wanted to take you."

          I nodded, trying to calm myself and not make an outburst. "I know. But he was with me the whole time after. He's even here now, standing outside, waiting for me."

          "Yeah, I saw him, Max looked like he was mentoring him or something. I guess he needs a lot to work on, huh, Kristina?"

          I nodded. "Yup. But he's doing a good job so far, I think. Anyway, I have to get going now. Sorry I can't stay."

          Sonny shook his head. "One of these days you're going to have to come and stay for a little longer. I have to make sure that Loren is doing his job. You may think he's doing a good job, but I have to make sure that you're protected." His voice lost its intimidating edge. "I can't lose you."

          "You won't, I promise," I whispered, then proceeded to the door. "Bye, Sonny. Bye, Bella."

          "Bye," they chorused and waved, Sonny a little melancholy. I sighed. I hoped I could prove myself to him.

          "So where are you going now?" Loren asked me, as we got back into the elevator and proceeded downward.

          "You mean, where we're going now?" I retorted, smirking. Loren just rolled his eyes, but I could see that they weren't annoyed by me. "Spoon Island."

          His demeanor suddenly stiffened. "Why?"

          "To visit my mother."

          Loren nodded. "Okay." I had a feeling he wanted to say more, but just left it at that. It became another awkward silence, and I sighed.

          "What?" he asked me, gently.

          "Nothing," I told him. I didn't want to worry him with my doubts about what we shared. I didn't even know what we shared. I was just confused, like there were still only mixed signals being sent to me. I just didn't know what to make of it.

          Later, after small talk and other things, we made it to Spoon Island. Loren decided to wander around and see if he could find anything that could start up the investigation into his mother's death again, while I meandered into Wyndemere. "Be careful," I implored him. "I don't want you getting lost."

          "Don't worry, I won't." Then, unexpectedly, he took my face into his hands and kissed me gently. "I'll be careful."

          "Okay." I smiled as he left, and sighed again. Boys. Can't live with them, can't live without them. I tried to clear my head of thoughts of him when I walked into the mansion, and I didn't really need to try; the atmosphere is so stately, so… regal, that it tends to take you out of your thoughts pretty easily. The living room was empty, so I called out, "Anyone here?"

          No answer. This was pretty weird. Why would anyone leave a door to their own house open and then have no one in it? It was really big, though, so I figured people were wandering about the house. I was about to go venture to look for Alexis when something unusual caught my eye. Behind the desk, the wall looked… different. It looked like it led somewhere. My curiosity getting the better of me, I headed closer. It looked dark, and dangerous, so I grabbed the first thing off the pristinely clean desk that I saw—a letter opener—to defend myself with. Now armed, I entered slowly into the passage, making sure to stay close to the wall.

          I soon wandered deeper and deeper into the passage, until I saw a flickering light. I deduced that it was a fire and I stayed put, trying to gather all that I could about my surroundings. Suddenly I heard voices.

          "Dark… so dark…"

          "Now, now, Vlad, that's nothing to worry about. Just stay quiet and you'll be out of here in a bit. Maybe if you sleep, your fears will be eased."

          "I don't want to sleep…"

          "Fine, suit yourself. We've just got to stay here for a while, though. Brandy?" Through the shadows, I saw a figure offer another figure a small flask.

          The other figure shook his or her head vigorously in a "no" fashion. I moved to try and get a better visual of who those two people were, when I slipped on a rock protruding on the ground and lost my balance. I didn't fall, but the sound from my mishap was enough to get the attention of the people inside. "Who's there?"

          _Damn,_ I thought. Why did I have to make Loren go somewhere else? This was precisely the reason why Sonny insisted he should be with me at all times. Frustrated, and defeated, I finally decided to show myself and not get hurt. _Besides, I reasoned, __I have the letter opener with me if it has to come to that._

          I stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Unfortunately for me, two old looking men looked back at me. Well, one did for a moment, then zoned out into his own world again. He seemed to be restrained in some way, but I couldn't tell what. The other, however, was still looking intently at me. "'Lo, darlin. How can I help you this fine night?" He raised his flask to me and then downed the contents.

          "I… who are you? What are you doing in here?" were the first questions that came to me, before I could bite my tongue. I sighed again. Things were not going well.

          Before I could get an answer, however, another figure emerged opposite from where I was standing. My fear intensified, until I saw that it was Loren and breathed a sigh of relief. He saw me and motioned to me to keep my distance. The person who was talking to me saw my reaction and turned around to see what in the world I was looking at, and when Loren saw his face, his eyes widened. "Is it… is it really you?"

          "In the flesh, Cowboy Jr.," he replied.

          Loren didn't know what to make of this, I could tell. He just stared at the guy, numbly, until he finally asked, "What are you doing here, Grandpa?"

Hahaha, an evil cliffie!!! You guys know the drill. You all rock – you're gonna bring me up to 100!!! Thanks so much!


	16. Chapter Fifteen

AN: Whoo-hoo! 100 reviews and counting, yay! Good job guys. You are all cool. This is just kind of a make up on the spot story, so this is totally cool! Anyway here's more.

Haha, you guys figured out the Luke, yay. I hope I write him in character, I've only seen him in limited scenes (although he and Skye are awesome together, I must say), so yeah. Have you guys figured out who the other person is…? =D You'll probably figure it out this chapter.

You all should know that this is going totally AU to what the writers are doing, right? You do know that, right? Hehe. Just wanted to make sure. If you're wondering where baby Morgan is, he's really Bella. Weird, I know, but let's assume that Morgan was a girl named Bellatrix instead, okay? No Alky in this story whatsoever. At least, for now.

Just random comments: is GH heating up or WHAT? (haha, excuse the pun.) Friday's (Feb. 13) ep was AWESOME! I watched it like 3 times… once on SoapNet Friday night, again on Saturday morning on SoapNet, and then today (Monday) on SoapNet… again… hahaha! Can you tell I love SoapNet? Anyway, I LOVED the Luke/Skye kiss! I was like, "Awww!" That's the whole reason I wanted to see the ep again. That, and the Journey kiss, yay, we haven't had one of those in a while. *sigh* And Tracy hugging Ned and Dillon. That was good stuff too. Man, it's getting good! I stay up until 11 watching because I can't watch it when it airs on ABC, so I watch it on SoapNet. =D Maybe I'll throw in Luke/Skye in here… but Skye's married to Ned. Hmm… can anyone say "backstory?" We'll see what I can do. Ooh, new ideas are forming! Yes!

(If I made Luke and Skye together instead of Skye and Ned, and Kristina didn't know about her parentage, Kristina would be Loren's aunt, step-aunt, whatever. Trippy or WHAT? But then again, that would be only if Skye was raising Kristina instead of Ned. Ah, family relations. So complicated.)

Does anyone know how many days have passed in this story? I think it's been less than a week. Anyone want to count for me? =D Or maybe it has been a week. Who knows. I know it hasn't been very long.

I'm making the chapters longer. Be happy!

Okay, I'm done. You may get confused as to why things happen as they do, but don't worry, all will be revealed later on.

_benbrattlover__ (and anyone else this might concern)_: Just wanted to give you an FYI: If you see someone lurking around the Journey Online boards as journeyrocks!, that's me. =D

And the disclaimer: They're not mine. Except Loren. You really should know that by now.

*

Golden Child

Chapter Fifteen

          The only thing my mind could say was, "Loren's grandfather?!?!" And just who was the other guy?

          "I thought they had you committed," Loren said, softly, slowly.

          "Well, does it seem like I'm crazy?" he – I think his name was Luke –questioned.

          Loren shook his head, apparently still shocked by the sight in front of him. "But… how come you never came looking for me? You made me think I had no family!" He sighed. "But I guess that never mattered to you, huh?"

          Loren's tone of voice instantly pulled at me. I felt so bad for him… I felt the urge to go and just hug him, hold him tight in my arms, but for once, common sense won out and I just stayed put.

          "Loren, I didn't know. What happened to Summer?"

          "She died! She was murdered – by him!" Loren pointed an angry finger at the other man there, who was currently looking around at the ceiling intently. The weird thing was that it looked like he wasn't trying to act innocent, but instead, he truly had no idea of what was going on.

          "Oh, Vlad? I bet he probably did."

          "THEN WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!?" Loren practically roared. I took a step back in shock.

          "Loren, look at him. Does he seem normal to you?"

          The three of us stared, quietly, at the other presence in the room. He seemed totally unaware of all of us, except me. "Cass… Cassi…" he suddenly said, staring right at me.

          "No, my name's Kristina," I said gently, before I could help myself. Loren shook his head in defeat, while Luke turned around. "Kristina? Are you Natasha's daughter?"

          My eyebrows furrowed. "No, my mother's name is Alexis."

          "That's the name she likes to use. It's not her given name."

          I nodded. However, at the mention of my mother's name, the person's trance suddenly lifted and he exclaimed, "If you're Alexis's daughter, then you're my niece!"

          Luke stepped back in horror. "He lives! I knew it was a bad idea to keep him here with me."

          Loren shook his head. "I could have told you that. Why are you harboring the killer of my mother with you?"

          "I found him, at the bottom of the cliffs, totally not knowing where he was or what he was doing. I didn't want him to be a menace to society, like he had been to all of us. He recognized me, although he didn't recognize me as his nemesis, and decided to follow me, so I let him. I figured Vlad here, if he was in his right mind, would hate the thought of having to be dependent on me, so I used that to my advantage." Luke grinned wickedly, and the other man glared at him. Luke quickly sobered and said, "But now I guess he's in his right mind, so…" He trailed off, apparently at a loss.

          All I could do was stand there, frozen. The person who killed Loren's mother, who left him alone… my uncle? I was related to him? Loren had told me about that, but…

          "I thought you died," was all I could say. "It's been so long… years… why are you and Luke just hanging around and hiding in the catacombs of this creepy place?"

          "I… honestly, I don't know. I don't remember much, but I do remember Alexis. I didn't even know that I was hanging around with this Spencer fool until just now."

          I shot a helpless look at Loren. We had promised to end this feud once and for all, but it seemed right now that it wasn't happening anytime soon. I couldn't think. There was just so much going on. So I did the only thing I could think of – I ran out, trying to remember the way back to the mansion. I could hear footsteps behind me and a cry of "Kristina, wait!" but all I could think about was getting out of there. Why, oh why, did I have to have my life this confused? At that moment, I wished that I had never found out about my parentage—after all, ignorance is bliss.

          Finally, I found the light that was the living room and I emerged, breathing hard. I stopped to put my hands on my knees and rest, and when I looked up, I found Nikolas looking back down at me. "Kristina? What were you doing in there?"

          "Why do you leave things like that open?" I retorted back.

          "I just… I don't know. That should have been closed." He went to close it, but I stopped him. "No! Don't."

          "Why not?"

          "Our uncle is in there."

          Nikolas looked thoroughly confused. "But… the only uncle we share is Stefan… and he's dead."

          "No he isn't! He's in there with Luke!"

          "Luke Spencer?" His expression changed from confused to shock. I nodded vigorously just as Loren emerged and said, "Kristina!"

          I turned around. "Loren… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

          "No, come here." He pulled me into a tight embrace as Nikolas ventured in. "I'm going in, Kristina. Stay here."

          From being enclosed in Loren's arms, I nodded, and then buried my head in Loren's shoulder. "God, I'm so sorry, Loren. I wish I wasn't related to them."

          "Listen to me." He pulled away so he could see me. "We talked about this already. You can't help who you are. You didn't choose. Even if you were able to, you didn't grow up this way. It's a matter of technicality, that's all. I don't blame you for what happened to my mother. You didn't even know – you were my age when it happened."

          "But…"

          "I'm sorry you had to see me like that," he continued. "I just… I've been waiting for so long to serve justice to my mother's memory, and…" He couldn't speak anymore. He just hugged me harder.

          "Shh. You don't have to explain. I understand."

          Loren smiled, a real smile. I didn't see many of those from him ever since I met him, and now that I did, it was a beautiful sight. "Thank you."

          I just nodded. We stayed there like that for a while, until we heard Nikolas come back out. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kristina, but there's no one there."

          I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

          "No one."

          I wanted to say more, but I had the feeling that I shouldn't. "That's strange. Maybe they left."

          "Whatever you say, Kristina. But I'm telling you, the only uncle we share is dead, so… As for Luke, no one's heard from him in ages—he kind of disappeared right after what happened to Lucky." He shot a sympathetic look in Loren's direction.

          "Okay, Nikolas. I won't pursue this. I'm… I'm sorry to bother you. Just don't keep that door open anymore, okay?"

          Nikolas produced a rare smile. "Okay." Then he looked strangely at me. "So what were you doing here if you weren't intending to go through the catacombs?"

          I laughed. "Oh. I wanted to see Alexis."

          "Okay. Do you remember where her room is?"

          I shook my head. "No, but I'm sure I can find it. Thanks, though."

          Nikolas nodded. "Okay. Call me if you need anything."

          "I will," I assured him. Then I turned to Loren. "What do you want to do?"

          "Sit. I just need to think." He cast a wary look at Nikolas. "Mind if I hang out here in the living room until Kristina's done?"

          Nikolas shrugged. "So long as you don't damage anything in here, fine by me."

          Loren wordlessly plopped on the couch, head in his hands, sighing. I sat down next to him, saying, "I'll be back," kissed him on the cheek, and then set off to go find Alexis.

          After about fifteen minutes of wandering, I finally found a familiar looking corridor. I remembered so vividly the first time I was here. I then realized that it had been the last time I had been here as well and that I had totally been neglecting my mother. She had been in my life even less than Sonny had, even though his involvement in my life was extremely limited before. He, at least, had been able to see me grow up with his daughter. Alexis never got to see that. I felt a sudden surge of guilt and sadness that I had deprived Alexis of all this even now.

          While I was pondering this, the door opened and Alexis stood there. "Kristina?" She appeared a little startled, but happy nonetheless. "What is it?"

          I shook my head. "Nothing bad." On impulse, I gave her a hug. I could feel her smiling as I did so. "What was that for?"

          I smiled as I walked into her room. "No reason. I was just thinking, you have shared so little of my life, and that ever since I found out about everything, I still haven't come to see you. I decided you deserved to see me. You are my mother, after all."

          "Oh, Kristina…" Tears were forming in her eyes. "So what did you want to do?"

          "Just talk. I told Sonny."

          Alexis suddenly stiffened. "You _what_?"

          "I told him. I didn't want to at first, but… his daughter is my best friend, and she told me that he would want to know."

          "Of course he would. That's how Sonny is. But…"

          I sensed her hesitation. "But what? Are you afraid?"

          She nodded. "I'm afraid he'll take you away from me, take custody of you, and I'll never be able to see you again."

          I sat down next to her on the bed. "Don't worry. I didn't let him."

          "What do you mean, 'didn't let him?'" She looked at me questioningly.

          "He wanted me to move in with him when he found out. I said no. I had been kicked out of the Quartermaines' the day before and had found a place to stay, and I didn't want to leave where I was—where I still am. We compromised and let the guy I'm staying with be my bodyguard. Sonny just wants me to be safe."

          Alexis's expression became more suspicious as I continued. "So… who are you staying with?"

          "Loren Spencer."

          "What?" she outburst. "Why? Why don't you just stay here with us? It's a big house and you'll have everything you need. You'll be safe here. Isn't that what you want?"

          "No, that's what _Sonny_ wants. I understand why he wants me to stay with him. I also understand why you want me to stay here. But… no one understands why I don't. I'm staying with Loren because it's neutral ground. God, Alexis, you don't know what it's like to feel torn between three different families. I'm trying to find who I am, who Kristina is, without the influence of anyone else. I know I can't change the fact that I'm part Cassadine, part Corinthos, but I feel attachment to the Quartermaines too, and… I just can't do it by living in one of those houses. Loren's helping me find who I am as just Kristina, not Kristina Ashton, Kristina Davis or Kristina Corinthos, or even Kristina Cassadine. Just Kristina."

          "Kristina Cassadine was your aunt," she said softly. She sighed. I guess she still missed her sister, even now. "She was all I had until you came along. And then… you know all this, Kristina. I don't have to tell you. I know you're smart. I trust your judgment. Besides, Loren's taking care of you, isn't he?"

          I nodded. "Yes."

          "Then as long as you're safe and happy, I'll be okay." She looked at me sadly. "All my life, special people have only stayed for a little while and then left. That happened to my mother. That happened to my sister. That happened with you, too, before, but I'm bound not to let it happen again."

          "I know." I hugged her again. "Don't worry, I won't let it either."

          Alexis smiled, and in the process, a few tears fell. I wiped them from my mother's face, a face worn by the passing of time, the trials of losing so many people, and from fighting the urge to just give in and become an empty shell. Loren said his grandfather did that once. I'm glad my mother didn't.

          My mother and I had a great talk. I got to know her better; I also saw a lot of myself in her. However, my visit to Wyndemere raised many questions. I realized that in our discussion of custody, that the Quartermaines still had custody of me. And the Luke episode. What had happened back there in the catacombs? Was it really Stefan Cassadine that was there with him? Sworn enemies, Luke and Stefan, together? My mind reeled from all the events of the day. Every day seemed to be filled with life-altering incidents, and this day was no other. Little did I know that each day that passed would bring many more.

So, did you like? Let me know! Review! Review!


	17. Chapter Sixteen

AN: Okay, I know it's been like forever and three days since I updated (actually more like three months), but seriously, there like aren't enough hours in the day! LOL. I just joined this Baby-Sitter's Club RPG, so if any of you guys are a fan of the BSC, go check it out!!! It's on GreatestJournal, just look for the community new bsc (with an underscore in between). I play Lindsey DeWitt, the evil one. One of them, anyway. LOL. It's fun. But anyway… that's one of the many reasons that has kept me away from this ficcie. That and the fact that I am boycotting GH (actually, I don't have time to watch it) because it's being STUPID! No Journey, no Nem, no SLye (not much anyway, not that I know of), blah. So I have found better things to do.

Speaking of SLye, you get a little in this chapter. YAY! =D And I apologize for the long wait, again. But to make up for it, I have made this chapter especially long! I hope to get all my subsequent chapters to this length or longer. Don't worry. I haven't given up on this story. I have plot running for a while. Yes, Luke and Stefan were real. They weren't a dream. You'll see them later in the story. =D I just don't have a lot of time. Hopefully when August comes, and I'm finally out of school (I'm taking summer classes), I'll have time to write a lot. But for now, this will have to do. Sporadic updates. So don't expect me to update this for a while.

That means, enjoy! And review, 'cause I miss them. =D

* * *

Golden Child

Chapter Sixteen

When our adventure at Spoon Island was done, the sun was still shining – but barely. There were so many questions I needed answers to, and I was realizing that though I was trying to find myself on my own, I still missed my adopted family. It had been only about a week since my world blew apart and then repieced back together, but somehow, in that span, so much had happened. Still, though, there was a lot more that I needed to know.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a groan.

"What's wrong?" 

I looked around to find Loren looking up at me, and smiled slightly. "My whole life is wrong. It's so complicated."

Loren nodded. "I'm sorry. So who are you going to visit and badger today?"

I looked strangely at him. "How did you know I was going to visit and badger someone today?"

He shrugged. "'Cause that's all you've been doing since you got here."

Laughing, I gave in. "Fine. If you must know, I'm going to the Quartermaine estate."

Loren's face suddenly twisted into an interesting expression. "Why? I thought you never wanted to step foot in that house again."

"I don't," I said, more forcefully and more angrily than I intended, "but I have to. I can't believe they haven't done anything yet, but I'm still under Ned and Skye's custody."

"You are, aren't you? Even if your great-grandfather doesn't want you in there, I'm sure Ned and Skye still love you. You were the picture of perfection before you found out about your real parentage, all poised and ready to become the next great Quartermaine heiress."

"Don't remind me," I sighed. "That was before they found out about me, though. Sometimes I wish I could still wake up in that house, with a stable family who loves me… okay, as stable as the Quartermaines can be," I revised, after Loren shot me a look that said, 'stable? Yeah right.' I continued, "I mean, they're a crazy bunch, but we always looked out for each other, in some horrible, twisted way. And now, I'm just a compilation of blood relations and adoptive love, and I really don't know who I am. I loved being Kristina Ashton, but… living like that, knowing who I am now, I would be living a lie, and I couldn't do that."

"Kristina, I know. You've told me this over and over again. I'm just saying that maybe Ned and Skye miss you, too, and that it would be a good thing to see them, that's all," Loren said, soothingly. "But do I have to come?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Nah. I can give you the day off."

"Will Sonny let you give me a day off?"

"Whatever. He's not here with me all the time, is he? Sometimes I just want to be able to walk by myself, you know? No offense to you, of course, you're lovely company." I grinned at him. "But I just don't want to feel like I must be watched all the time."

Loren laughed.

"What?"

"You sound like Carly."

I made a face. "She doesn't know about me too much, does she?"

Loren shrugged. "You'd probably know that more than I would. But she won't be happy at all when she finds out. That's the irony of it."

"Oh well. I'll deal with one problem at a time."

Smiling, Loren nodded. "That's my girl. You sure you don't want me to come with you, just for moral support?"

"I'm sure. Take a break. Do something you want to do for once. You don't have to live my life with me so much."

"Okay. Just… promise me you'll be careful?"

I softened, and then kissed him. "Sealed with a kiss."

Loren's smile widened. I loved looking at his smile. It made him look so… happy, so carefree. "Loren, you have so much to deal with, too, but all you're concerned about is me. Let me know if you need me. I'm always here for you."

"Yeah, I know. I just… don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

"Promise?" I looked into his blue eyes, concern written across mine.

He leaned in and kissed me again. "Promise."

* * *

The day was absolutely glorious – I loved summer weather with a passion. I enjoyed walking through the winding paths so much that I nearly forgot all my cares and worries about being safe and what not. Nearly, that is, until a hand grabbed me roughly by the arm.

I was whirled around to face a woman who looked about my uncle Dillon's age. "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter right now, pretty girl. Just make sure you watch your back. You don't have your little friend here to protect you right now. Imagine what might happen to you. I may just have to take you someplace you don't want to be."

I narrowed my eyes at her, while trying to pull my arm free. "What have I ever done to you?"

"It's not what you've done. It's just who you are. So watch it, sweetheart, or else you just might find yourself in a spat of trouble you can't get out of." She smiled sickeningly at me, and I was disgusted. "Well, whoever you are, you can just get out of my way and let me be."

"I can't believe you don't know who I am, what with your father being who he is and everything," the woman continued, as if she didn't even hear me.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" I countered.

"If you go running to your daddy and tell him that Sage Alcazar-Rosco gave you trouble, I'll find out. And if I find out… next time we meet, it may involve more than just idle banter. So tata for now, little Kristina. Remember to watch your back. You never know when someone's watching you." With that, she released my arm and I nearly stumbled with the force. Fuming, I walked away, rubbing my upper arm absentmindedly. "What a witch," I muttered. Something troubled me, though. How would she know about my connection to Sonny? Just who was she? The name Alcazar sounded familiar, but I didn't know from where.

* * *

Sooner rather than later, I found myself on the stoop of the Quartermaine estate, hesitating whether or not to ring the doorbell. I then realized that I still had a key – of course, being the ditzy girl that I am, it wasn't on me. But I remembered the secret hiding place of the spare key; yes, even rich families like the Quartermaines need spare keys. I smiled sadly at the memory of the first time I discovered it – it was still when Emily was alive and she was showing me where it was. 

**Flashback**

_"Emily? What are you doing?"_

_I was watching, puzzledly, my older cousin upturn a plant on our front stoop. My six year old mind was boggled seeing a classy, pretty lady like Emily dumping a ton of soil onto the bushes next to the plant. She turned, wiping her sticky bangs away from her face, and smiled at me. "Oh, nothing, Kristina. I just wanted to get in without disturbing anyone, and this is where we keep the key."_

_"Why do we keep a key there? Won't people be able to get in if we keep a key outside?"_

_"That's why we hide it in here." She dug around in the half-empty pot of soil, the plant sadly collapsing in its pot, and then produced something metal and shiny. "If you ever need to get inside and don't have a key, this is where you look."_

_"Okay." I smiled. "But if you need to get in, the living room door is open if you want to walk in that way."_

_Emily smiled her pretty, sweet smile. "Thank you, Kristina." And with that, the two of us walked back into the house._

**Real time**

She was so sweet. I sighed sadly. I missed my older cousin. I wished that she were still alive to talk to, and to help me.

* * *

I let myself in and, unsurprisingly, no one was in the silent foyer. I tucked the key into my pocket and proceeded to find Skye, but as I was deciding which way to go to find her, someone found me.

"Kristina! What are you doing here?"

I turned around, my long curly hair whipping behind me, to face the speaker. I relaxed when I saw that it was only Brooklyn staring back at me. And then my expression turned to one of shock. "Lynn! What in the world are you doing here?!?!" 

Brooklyn Ashton and I grew up as sisters, but she's the same age as our uncle Dillon. Strange, huh? Anyway, she and I were never especially close, but we were close enough. It's probably because she kinda drifted in and out of my life—one year we were at the same school, next we were across the country from each other. But every time we see each other, it's always good times.

"I'm back in town, baby sister. Business brings me here, but of course I have to see my family." She grinned, but I could detect a trace of sadness in her eyes. I just nodded, not needing to complicate my mind further, and asked, "Have you seen Skye?"

"You mean Wicked Stepmother?" Brooklyn and Skye had never liked each other very much, obviously.

I rolled my eyes. "I mean Skye."

Brooklyn nodded. "Yeah, I think she's in the sitting room."

"Thanks, Lynn." I turned to leave, but my sister's voice called me back. "What, you're not even going to give your favorite sister a hug?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're my—" From habit, I was used to calling her my only sister, but now, it wasn't so true anymore. I smiled to cover my hesitation and finished, "my only sister." Lynn and I embraced each other, but somehow, it just wasn't the same anymore, not for me, and I could sense, not for her.

* * *

"Skye?"

I poked my head into the sitting room, finding my… well, Skye, on the phone. She didn't seem to hear me (I did speak rather quietly), so when she hung up and turned around, she gasped audibly. "Kristina! What a pleasant surprise!" She rushed up to embrace me as well, and I smiled. "Hi, Skye."

"What brings you here?" 

I went straight to the counter where the crystal decanters of brandy and scotch stood, and took the glass pitcher of water and poured myself a drink. "I just wanted to talk to you, about… about a lot of things."

"Like what?" she asked, curiously, sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to her.

"Everything, from Alexis to Sonny and about Loren and… my life has been so crazy the last week."

Skye just looked expectantly at me, and I began, "Well, everyone knows about me being Sonny's daughter. That's gotten me into some fishy situations."

"Are you alright?" she asked, I guess kind of instinctively. I smiled. "Well I'm here, aren't I? I'm okay. Just… a little unnerved. I didn't ask for any of this. I live with a guy named Loren now. We share a trailer."

Skye's eyebrows raised quite high. "Really. Is there anything going on with you two?"

I smiled and blushed a little. "Um, yes?"

"Just be careful, Kristina. That's all I'm going to say."

"Okay." I grinned again. "Oh, and yesterday, I was at Spoon Island, in the catacombs—"

"What were you doing in the catacombs?" Skye asked, sharply.

"The secret passage door was open, I went in. Simple as that. I told Nikolas next time to leave those things closed. Anyway, I was in there, and guess who I saw?"

"Who?"

"Stefan Cassadine and Luke Spencer."

Skye, who had been taking a sip of her water, immediately started choking and spit whatever water she hadn't swallowed out, narrowly missing my face. She took another sip to stop her coughing and then asked, "Luke Spencer?"

"Yeah. Loren's grandfather. I know it's kind of shocking, since no one's seen him for ages."

Nodding, Skye responded, "Yeah… that is shocking. Why would he show up after all these years? I thought… I thought I had lost him forever," she said, quietly and slowly, as if she was talking to herself.

"Wait. _What_ was that?" I questioned. That came out of nowhere! "You knew Luke?"

Skye nodded, and I could see something in her eyes, a light that I don't think I had ever seen in them before. "Luke and I, we were very close. To give you the short story, we had ventured into a romantic entanglement right before he disappeared. Those few months were the best of my life. A few weeks after he was gone, I discovered that I was pregnant."

"But I thought… I thought you could never have kids."

"That's what I thought, too. I was overjoyed. Luke had meant so much to me and this was just incredible… but I lost the baby, and I was devastated. You helped me through it, though. You were such a happy little girl, totally oblivious to the world around you, and your innocence and your ability to find happiness in the little things taught me a lot. I soon fell in love with your father and help raise you, but I didn't feel nearly as much for him as I fell for Luke. He's always been in my heart."

I sighed. "Wow. I… I didn't know that."

"I didn't think I had to tell you about it. But now that he's come back, and you're not mine anymore… well… we'll see."

"You're going to divorce Ned?" I asked, shocked.

Skye shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's just… things have changed, circumstances have changed. We'll just have to wait, okay?"

I nodded. "But about one thing you said… about me not being yours anymore… that's not entirely true. And that's another reason why I came here today."

"What are you talking about?" Skye asked.

I sighed. "I'm talking about custody. You and the Quartermaines still have legal custody of me, and I wanted to do something about that."

Skye nodded in understanding. "Of course. That's entirely plausible. Do you know your options, though? Who would you want to have custody of you? So many people could claim you."

"I don't want anyone to have custody of me. I want to be my own person."

"Like an emancipated minor?" Skye suggested, before I could finish. My hopes lifted. I didn't think there would be a solution to this, but… here it was, presented in front of my face. "Emancipated… minor?" I repeated.

"Yes. Basically, you can sign your own papers, you don't need parental consent for anything, but you have to fulfill some requirements. What exactly, I'm not sure, but I'm sure we could get Justus in here to help you."

"Oh, would you? That would be awesome."

Skye smiled. "Of course, Kristina. As much as it pains me to 'officially' lose you, I'll still do anything for you. I love you as if you were my own daughter. Up until a week ago, you were." I could see her tearing and I gave her a hug. _Sigh. Why does everyone have to love me? And even worse, why do I have to love everyone who does? Can't we all just share?_

"Thank you so much, Skye. It really means a lot to me." I smiled back at her, a little shakily, and watched as she made the call that would determine my future.

* * *

Review! Please? Please please please? Thanks much =D


	18. Chapter Seventeen

AN: Yes, I live. Sorry about the wait, but college and finals and working sucks. I did have this chapter planned from the beginning, though. It's the halfway point of the story… (hopefully. Haha.) so, we're halfway there! Only 17 more chapters to go! (Haha, just kidding.) After this though, I don't know where the story's headed. I mean, I know how it'll end, but I don't know what to do between now and then. Oh well. We'll get to that.

Two things I realized when I was writing this chapter. A) Kristina could have just gone to Kelly's and gotten a room there when she was kicked out of the Q's. B.) Loren still has his grandfather's sister alive (Bobbie) and could have just lived with her and Lucas. Augh. I didn't realize these two simple facts until this chapter. I really want to go back and fix the story to reflect these – it would be more realistic – but if I did I don't know if the actual plot could stay intact. I'll experiment. Also I'll probably go back and make the chapters longer so that there's less of them. Major reworking has to be done with this story. Major.

On a side note, it's been a year since the story's been up! Yay. :D And it's halfway done. Another year to go! Hahaha.

On another side note, this chapter has some… um… shall we say, content, in it? Nothing THAT bad though. Just some descriptions of heavy making out. Haha. You have been warned.

And the song's not mine. It's by Norah Jones, and it's called "Come Away With Me" (as you can probably guess from the song). The first time I heard it, I thought it was perfect for this scene. :D Yay.

Okay, that's all. Don't throw your shoes at me for not updating too much, okay? Life's keeping me busy. And you know they're not mine, so I'm not putting the disclaimer up anymore. It's up on the first chapter if you really want to read it.

Onto the story! Please review. I miss them. Sigh.

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Golden Child

Chapter Seventeen

"Kelly's," I said to myself as I stood in front of its glass windows. "Here goes nothing."

I was on my way back home to tell Loren the good news. Justus had come to explain to me the requirements needed to be an emancipated minor, and I satisfied all of them except for one: to be able to handle my own finances. "We'll open up a bank account for you," Skye had explained, "but after that, you'll be on your own. We'll also try and transfer some of your funds in there, but I can't guarantee we can get it all, but you'll have something to start with."

"But I can't live off of that forever, can I?"

Justus shook his head. "Of course not. Kristina, you're going to have to get a job."

---

So that's why I was standing in front of Kelly's. It was the only place I could think of to get a job. Taking a deep breath, I walked inside, to find a young blonde wiping down the counter. "Um… hi."

She looked up at me. "Hello," she said politely. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering… is there any way I can work here?"

The blonde had an expression of thought on her face, and then said, "Let me call Bobbie. She owns the restaurant. And by the way, my name's Maxie. Maxie Jones."

"Hi. I'm Kristina."

"Kristina…" She let my name trail, as if waiting for my last name.

"Just Kristina."

"Okay." She smiled warmly as she picked up the phone. "Don't worry, Bobbie's really nice. She almost always lets people work here, and if you really need it, like if you're new to town, she'll let you stay upstairs." Maxie motioned to the stairs. "There are rooms for rent up there."

I nodded as she dialed the number and waited. "Hello? Bobbie? Hi, it's Maxie Jones… there's someone here who wants to know if we have an opening… Yeah, she's here… I don't know, let me check." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and asked, "Do you have anywhere to be right now? Bobbie's asking if you're going to be here."

I shrugged. "I don't have anything else to do right now."

"Okay." She then turned back to the phone conversation. "Yeah, she'll be here… Okay. Okay, thanks, Bobbie!" Maxie hung up the phone brightly. "She'll be here in about thirty minutes. Did you want to have a cookie or something to eat while you're waiting? If you get the job, it'll be on the house."

I smiled. "That'd be great."

---

After a great meal of a grilled chicken salad and a cookie (yes, that is a meal), I talked to Maxie a little bit – I found out that she was (is) Georgie's sister. I swear, I'm related to everyone in this town. I also peered up the stairwell half-hidden in the corner. If I had known about this place when I got kicked out, I would have come straight here.

_But then again, you wouldn't get to live with Loren._

Before I could think of anything else, the bells on the door jingled, and an older lady with reddish-brown hair walked in. "Hello, I'm Bobbie Spencer. And who might you be?"

"My name's Kristina. I was wondering if you had a position available for me?" I was also wondering if she was related to Loren, because they had the same last name.

Bobbie smiled warmly. "Kristina… what did you say your last name was again?"

I shrugged. "I didn't."

She cocked her head to one side and studied me. "You're Sonny's daughter." It wasn't a question, it was a fact. I felt myself tense. How did she know?

I think she could feel my tension, because she reassured me, "Don't worry. I happen to know Sonny well. He is my son-in-law."

"So Carly's your daughter," I reasoned.

Bobbie nodded. "Yes. And I hope you realize this will have no bearing on my opinion of you. You personally have not done anything to offend her, even if she believes you have." She leaned in closer and told me, "My daughter can be very stubborn sometimes. Don't worry about it."

I smiled and relaxed. Maxie was right. Bobbie was wonderful.

"I believe we can accommodate more people on our staff. And you're not at school right now, right?"

Nodding, I replied, "No."

"Then you can start as soon as you'd like. Did you also need a room?"

"No. I already have living arrangements. But thank you, anyway. Thank you so much for all of this, Ms. Spencer."

"Please, call me Bobbie. All this 'Ms. Spencer' stuff makes me feel as old as I am." She smiled and winked at me.

"Okay, Ms…. Bobbie. Oh yes, I have one more question."

She stopped halfway through the act of standing up. "What's that, dear?"

"Do you happen to have a Loren somewhere in your family?"

"My brother's grandson, yes." Her brow furrowed. "But I haven't heard from him in ages. I don't know what's happened to him."

I smiled. "Then I shall make sure I say hello to him for you."

---

On my way out of town, with extra food for Loren from Kelly's, I walked along happily. Finally being able to be free from everyone's custody… a steady job… I was totally independent and loving it. However, it bothered me that Loren still had a surviving member of his family still alive. Why didn't he live with her? But I assumed that it was risky to pry, and since he had been through enough already, I would ask him later.

Finally, as the sun's rays were leaving the twilight sky, I made it to the place I called home. As I drew nearer, I could hear the strains of a guitar being played. It wasn't a recording – it sounded live, because every now and then the person stopped and restarted.

I knocked on the door of the trailer and Loren opened it, and as I stepped inside, I saw a guitar sitting on the table, all previous thoughts escaping my brain as I stumbled across this new revelation.

"I didn't know you played! Why didn't you tell me?" More importantly, how did he manage to keep something as big as a guitar hidden in an RV?

"Hello to you, too, Kristina. Your day go well?"

I nodded serenely. "You didn't answer the question."

He shrugged, but I noticed the eye-roll. "You never asked," he replied, simply. Loren sat back down and ran his hand across the polished wood of the instrument. "My mom taught me how to play. It helps when I'm sad, or lonely; it helps me feel closer to her." He looked at it with melancholy, and then his gaze switched back to me. "Want to learn?"

"I… sure. Let me put my things away first, though." I set the brown bag of food down on the table next to the guitar. "That's your dinner."

Loren laughed. "Thanks, Mother."

"You're welcome," I smirked back, then threw the rest of my things on the bottom bunk, took off my shoes, and pulled my hair back. I wandered back over to the table. "Hey."

He smiled. "Hey. Come here." He motioned for me to sit next to him. When I proceeded to do so, Loren put the guitar in my hands. I looked at him, bewildered. "I… I have no clue how to play this thing," I said.

Loren smirked. "Here." He showed me where to put my hands. "You put your left hand up here," he instructed, guiding my hand to the fretboard. "And then you put your right hand here, to strum." His left hand was still on top of mine, so this had the effect of being encircled in his arms. I smiled. "Now what?" I asked, reveling in the proximity of our bodies.

"Okay, now take your fingers and put them here, like this." Loren took my fingers and pressed them on various strings on the guitar. "Now you have to push down hard, or else it won't sound right."

I nodded. "Okay." I pressed down, feeling the harsh metal strings underneath my fingers. I winced, and then Loren handed me a little plastic triangle.

"This is a pick. This is what you use to strum the guitar."

I rolled my eyes. "I know _that_."

"Sheesh, I'm just checking. Anyway," he continued on, "just take this between your thumb and your index and middle fingers, and rake it across the strings, top to bottom. Like this." He demonstrated, and the sound that ensued… didn't quite sound like a guitar. I guess, instead of long, ringing tones, they sounded kind of… clipped. I looked at Loren questioningly, and he gave me a sheepish smile. He then examined my left hand. "Um… that's not exactly how a guitar is supposed to sound. Your nails are too long. How about we switch?"

"Okay." I lowered my left hand, marveling at the lines imprinted on my fingertips. Loren noticed this and remarked, "It hurts, doesn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I didn't think guitar playing would hurt that much."

"After a while, though, your body gets used to it. See, look." All of a sudden, I felt his fingertips gently brush my face, and a shiver ran down my spine as I closed my eyes. They didn't exactly feel smooth; instead, they had a roughness to them. "Guitar playing gives you calluses like no other," Loren explained.

I just nodded, still entranced by his touch. "Hey, let's play a song," he suggested, effectively breaking me out of my stupor.

"Okay," I agreed.

"I'll do the fingering, and you strum, okay? Just do it whenever I tell you. Okay… strum."

I did so, and the sound that came out of the guitar was a lot more beautiful than what I had done. "Strum."

Again I did so, and as Loren continued to lead me, I recognized the song—a slow, romantic melody—and began to sing it.

_Come away with me in the night_

_Come away with me, and I will write you a song_

_Come away with me, only us_

_Come away where they can't taint us with their lies_

How appropriate, I thought. It would be nice to have just him and me, together, away from scheming families and overprotectiveness and all kinds of stuff that we put up with every day.

_And I wanna walk with you on a cloudy day_

_In fields where the yellow grass grows knee high_

_So won't you try to come_

_Just come away with me and we'll kiss on a mountaintop_

At the word "kiss," I felt Loren's lips gently brush the back of my ear, and I felt the familiar tingle go down my back. However, he didn't stop there… he kept trailing kisses down my neck, as his right arm began to hold me tighter against him.

And as I launched into the last phrase of the verse, he sang it along in my ear, huskily, and melted my heart.

_Come away with me and I'll never stop loving you_

I was amazed that Loren could do all of this at once – the guitar playing and distracting me. Suddenly, I found that I couldn't do it anymore, and turned around in his embrace to face him. We stared at each other for just a split second, and then…

Everything happened so fast. Before I knew it, his lips were on top of mine, hungrily kissing me with every ounce of passion he had. I returned them just the same. Soon my lips parted more and I could feel the warmth of Loren's tongue entering my mouth, exploring everywhere. I heard, somewhere in the background, the thud of the guitar falling, and also in the back of my mind, concern for it, but it didn't seem to stop us. His hands were roaming all across my back and even up my shirt as I raked one hand through his dark locks. Taking the cue from him, I slipped my other hand up the front of his shirt, feeling the skin underneath. It wasn't overly toned, but it was still in shape, as I could feel running my fingertips along the contours of his chest. As he proceeded to kiss down my neck and pull me closer, I felt a low moan escape my lips.

Loren looked up and me and smiled. "You like that, huh?"

I nodded, breathlessly, and our passionate embrace continued. Soon it was all a tangle of arms, legs, and clothes, as articles of clothing started to come off. Before we could get any further, Loren looked me in the eye. "You sure you want to do this? Because if we don't stop now… I don't think I can."

"Don't stop," I begged him, unable to think, my body taking full control.

And he didn't stop. In our frenzy to get as close to each other as possible, we also tried to move somewhere more comfortable, which was awkward, but in the end, we managed to make it to Loren's little "room," where he pulled the curtain shut tight.

---

I stirred in the middle of the night to find a light tap-tapping all over the RV; I listened a little bit more to find that it was just a summer storm sending light rain all over. I sleepily remembered that we never finished the song – singing it, that is, and with a smile, I stroked Loren's even more disheveled than normal hair, kissed his sleeping forehead softly, and went back to sleeping, fully content to have his arms holding me tight.

(_And I want to wake up with the rain falling on the tin roof_

_while__ I'm safe there in your arms_

_so__ all I ask is for you to come away with me in the night_

_Come away with me…)_

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